Pokémon XY&Z: Life, Death, Order, and Chaos
by TheRisingFlame
Summary: Zeno attempts to settle down with his family in Kalos, but a fateful encounter spurs him into action once more and he must embark on a journey through Kalos where he'll discover what it truly means to share a bond with Pokemon. Along with new and old friends alike, Zeno stumbles across a shadowy organization that'll issue a Chaotic Order that'll bring Life to Death.
1. Prologue: A Kantonian in Kalos

**#I don't own anything of Pokemon. This is pure fanfiction within the Pokemon universe and it's an AU. The only thing I do own is my OCs and I'm pretty sure it'll be obvious who my OCs are.**

**IMPORTANT! THIS STORY IS A SEQUEL TO MY OTHER STORY, "POKEMON HERO BORN OF DARKNESS"! YOU COULD READ THIS WITHOUT READING THAT ONE, BUT YOU WILL BE VERY CONFUSED! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!**

I pulled on my shirt, pulling my hair out from the back of it. I looked in my mirror, checking my reflection. I looked a little bit older, my hair a reflecting that part. It was longer now, but it only went a little past my shoulders. It was still kind of all over the place, but I preferred it that way.

I pulled my knife from my belt and cut off a bit of my hair in the back, making it shorter. Putting the knife back, I ruffled my hair. I grinned. Perfect.

I pulled on my black combat boots and went to pick up my trench coat. As I grabbed it, I hesitated.

"No," I decided. "I don't need that anymore. It's no longer me."

Instead, I pulled on a black over shirt with short sleeves over my black t-shirt. Then after putting on black sleeveless gloves, I grabbed the pokeball on my desk and clipped it to my belt.

"Time to go," I whispered, grabbing my almost empty backpack.

I went over to my window and pushed it open. I swung my legs over and landed on the wet grass. I closed my window and let Arcanine out of my pokeball.

I climbed on and said, "Go straight."

Arcanine nodded and ran into the forest ahead of us. After several minutes, we reached a small clearing where a Meowth balloon was tied to a tree. Jessie, James, and Meowth stood by it and waved me over.

"Hey kid," Meowth said, saluting me. "Glad you're back."

I grinned. "Me too."

Jessie and James both put a hand on my shoulder.

"So why are you leaving?" Jessie asked.

I looked back in the direction I had come from. "I had hoped that I could change him. I guess I was wrong."

James shook his head. "Some people can't be changed."

I smiled sadly. "I guess."

I shook away the sadness. "Now, we should be going before they notice I'm gone. Where are we heading anyway?"

I returned Arcanine and got into the wicker basket of the Meowth Balloon.

Jessie answered when she got in. "Somewhere far away from here."

Meowth grinned. "Kalos. Man, I've heard great things about that place I tell you."

"We'll be living in a small quiet town," James said, jumping in after untying the rope. "Vaniville Town."

I sighed. "Perfect. I think a quiet life will do me some good."

As the balloon lifted up into the sky and away from Kanto, I knew I would be starting fresh all over again. My thoughts then drifted to Alex. I wondered if I would ever see her again. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I watched as Kanto drifted by below us.

...

Alex slammed the door to her house shut and stalked into the forest. She grabbed her bag from up in a tree and slung it over her shoulder. She was getting out of here. She was done dealing with her malfunctioning family.

"I'm never going back there," she said angrily as she followed a path.

Figuring her best bet to get to out of here would be by plane, she set her destination to Rustboro where she could get a ticket out of here. She tied her honey blonde hair into a ponytail and after flicking away a strand of one of her red highlights, she set off.

...

A plane touched down in the Lumiose City Airport. The door to it opened and a young man stood at the top of the stairs.

"Ah," he breathed. "A new region. You ready?"

A Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder. "Pika pika!"

He grinned. "Of course you are partner."

He straightened his red hat. "Now, let our adventure in the Kalos region begin!"

**Now I wonder who he could be? Hmmm. Anyway, the sequel is underway! So soon after HBoD ended, but what can you do but just accept it? Now, let the new tale in Kalos unfold from the mind of a fanfiction writer! Toodles!**


	2. Chapter 1: Settling into Vaniville Town

I sighed contently as I plopped down on the comfortable bed, sinking into its warmth. "Now this is what I never had."

Sitting up, I unhooked my knife and sat it down on the desk near the bed. Grabbing my pokeball from my belt, I let out Arcanine.

He looked around the room and sniffed. I chuckled. "Yeah, I know it's practically empty. Give it a month or so. It'll be home."

He shook himself and came over to me. He licked my face and plopped down on the floor, his head on my lap.

I rubbed his head. "I know right? Peace seems so far fetched at the moment. But, maybe, just maybe, we really can have a peaceful life."

"I mean," I thought back to several months ago. "No more Hero Born of Darkness business. It's just me and you buddy. Zeno and Arcanine. Settling down with family."

"Hey kid!" I heard James call from downstairs. "Come down will you?"

I smiled. "Family calls."

I started heading down the stairs, when I heard a thump. I looked back to see Arcanine confused. He tried to fit through the opening to the stairs, only to discover his body wouldn't fit.

I laughed. "Well, this could be a problem."

I held out his pokeball, but he growled and shouldered his way through, breaking bits of the wall along with him. He padded down after me, looking mighty pleased with himself.

I shook my head and tucked his pokeball away. "You're going to explain that to Jessie, not me."

Making our way down into the living room, we saw Jessie and James cooking food in the kitchen.

I leaned against a wall. "You know how weird it looks, to see you two cooking food?"

James grinned and flipped a pancake. "Zeno, when we were on the job, we went undercover a lot. And many of those times were as cooks. We got pretty good at it too."

A cloud of smoke exploded into existence near Jessie and she looked astonished with her soot covered face.

James chuckled. "Well, except maybe Jessie."

She glared at him and smacked him on the head.

"Ow," he cried, rubbing his head as Jessie walked towards me.

She looked at Arcanine. "How'd he fit down the stairs?"

I shrugged. "Don't ask and I'll tell no lies."

She raised an eyebrow at that, but shrugged it away. "A truck with home supplies should be here within the next few days. In the meantime, you should go exploring. It's a brand new region you're in. Just, don't go wandering off too far."

She took out a map. "Only down to Aquacorde Town for as of now. Santalune City maybe later on, but that would be a couple days you would be gone."

"Hey," I said, grinning. "It's me. I can take care of myself."

She gave me a dry look. "That's what I'm afraid of."

She sighed and handed me the map. "Here. Now get going. Meet people your own age. You don't get to do that often."

On my way to the front door, I said, "I did in Alola."

"So we know you can make friends," I heard her say. "Do it again."

I returned Arcanine and opened the door. I closed it once I stepped outside and I breathed in the sweet Kalosian air, feeling the sun on my face. It wasn't as warm as it was in Alola, but warmer than Kanto. Clusters of trees surrounded the small town and the rest was countryside. To my right would be the town entrance, where a small road led to Aquacorde Town just ten minutes away. Besides my house, there was one next to it on the left, and past the gate, three more.

I heard chirping and I looked at the triangular garden plot in front of my house. Several Fletchlings fluttered around in the white and yellow flowers. Then I noticed Meowth, hidden in the flowers, crouched onto his stomach. He stalked forwards, then pounced. The Fletchlings flew above him and Meowth tried to jump and grab one of them. Their beaks glowed and they began pecking him.

After watching this for a couple seconds, I stepped forwards. "Alright guys, shoo. Shoo."

They flew away and Meowth gave me a thumbs up. "Thank Zeno. You saved my hide."

I smirked. "It's your fault this happens to you."

He held his paw to his chest. "I'm hurt."

"Yeah you are," I said, tossing him a potion. "Now go and help Jessie and James. I'm going to have a look around."

He saluted me. "Alright boss!"

He scampered off and I was about to let out Arcanine, when I heard a loud pounding noise.

"WATCH OUT!"

Turning to look right, I saw a Rhyhorn barreling down the cobblestone road towards me, a light brown haired girl around my age in a pink jumpsuit running after him.

Letting out Arcanine, I shouted, "Leer!"

Arcanine narrowed his eyes and growled. Rhyhorn's eyes widened and he skidded to a stop right in front of the Fire type.

The girl jogged up to her Rhyhorn, breathing hard. After a few seconds, she seemed fine, apart from being red in the face. "So sorry about that. Rhyhorn just doesn't like to be contained all that much. Plus, I don't think he likes me."

She tried to grab the harness I just now noticed on his back, but he turned his head away.

I chuckled to myself. "Well, I'm just glad I could help."

Looking at her attire again, I asked, "What's with the jumpsuit?"

She looked at it. "This? Oh, it's for my Rhyhorn racing. Or training I should say. My mom's the Rhyhorn racer."

She shook her head. "What am I doing? My mom would kill me if I didn't introduce myself."

She smiled and held out her hand. "My name's Serena. It's nice to meet you."

I shook her hand. "My name's Zeno. Pleasure."

She looked at my house. "You're part of the family that just moved in?"

I nodded. "Just got here today."

"Where are you from?"

"Kanto."

Her eyes widened. "Really!? Kanto!?"

She looked like she wanted to ask something, but instead she said, "That's pretty far away. Aren't you tired."

I shook my head. "Nah. I'm used to travelling. But maybe this time I'll be able to settle down."

Serena was about to say something else, but Rhyhorn nudged her. Not so much a gentle nudge as it was a forceful knockdown. She landed on her back and groaned.

"Rhyhorn," she said, sitting up. "I'm going to give you away when mom isn't looking."

Rhyhorn made a sound like laughing and lumbered off down the street to where I assumed was Serena's house.

I helped her up. "He looks like a handful for sure."

She glared at the retreating Pokemon. "You have no idea."

She looked at Arcanine. "Your Pokemon seems well trained. I mean, he managed to stop my Rhyhorn with just a Leer."

Arcanine huffed proudly, sticking out his chest.

I laughed. "I guess. He and I, we've trained together for not even a year yet."

I rubbed his head. "Yet he's the strongest Pokemon I have with me."

Serena smiled and rubbed his head. He grunted and licked her face.

She stepped back, wiping his slobber away. "Though that is kind of gross."

Arcanine looked indignant and I laughed again. "I'm used to it."

"Serena! Serena, where are you!?"

Serena groaned. "That would be my mother."

She turned and began running back, but then turned around to wave goodbye. "It was nice meeting you Zeno!"

I waved. "Same to you Serena!"

She turned back around and ran back to her house where I could see her mother in the doorway.

Rubbing Arcanine's head, I said, "C'mon buddy. Let's see if James finished the food."

...

I sat at the round dinner table with Jessie to my right and James to my left. Meowth sat across from me, digging into pancakes like a human would. Even Arcanine got pancakes, which were placed in a food bowl on the ground near me.

"So," Jessie said. "Meet any cute girls?"

I nearly choked on my next bite and even James spluttered with his food.

"What?" Jessie looked at us.

James pounded his chest and managed to swallow. "You're trying to get him to bring home a girl?"

"Well," Jessie said. "I wouldn't say it like that."

I gave her a sideways glance. "Look, I don't need a girlfriend at the moment."

Jessie leaned on one of her hands. "What about Alex?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It's been six months and I don't even know where she lives. Plus, we weren't officially together."

Jessie snorted. "Tell her that."

I scowled. "Look, I'm not ready yet for all that. Sure we kissed a couple times, but..."

I drifted off. "But that was only because I knew I would be leaving and I guess we wanted to feel together as much as we could before I left."

Jessie smiled kindly. "Zeno, she still likes you, I guarantee it. And you just need to be ready for her. Search your heart for answers."

James bit into his pancake. "You know, you were never this wise before. I think you got old."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Excuse me!?"

James nodded. "Yeah, you got old."

Jessie looked outraged. "I am 27 thank you very much!"

"And I'm 26," James responded casually. "As I said, old."

Leaving them to their bickering, I left the house. It was getting a bit colder since the sun was beginning to set. I heard thump and saw Arcanine trying to fit through the door.

"Not this time buddy," I said, returning him to his pokeball. "I don't think it would be a good idea for you to break the doorway."

I hooked the pokeball to my belt and stood there, feeling the breeze filter by. Peaceful.

"Hey there!"

I opened my eyes to see a girl wearing a pink shirt with three black bows lining the middle standing a couple feet away. Her shorts had black frills around them and a pink purse was slung over her shoulder.

She smiled. "I'm Shauna. I hear your name's Zeno. Nice to meet you."

I shook her hand, a little speechless. She seemed a little, ecstatic.

"Hi," I finally said.

She held out a letter. "Here, for you."

"Thanks," I said, looking at it. "What's it for?"

"The Pokemon Professor asked me to see if someone your age was moving in here," she said. "And if there was, I was to give them this letter."

She took a breath. "It's so you can receive a starter Pokemon and gather research for Professor Sycamore."

"Oh, " I said. "Yeah, sorry, but no."

She looked surprised. "Why not?"

"I already have my own Pokemon," I said, tapping my pokeball. "Plus, I'm not all that interested in going around the region as of now. I kinda just want to rest for a while."

She frowned, apparently unable to take no for an answer. "Just think about it okay. Getting a starter, or just a Pokemon, isn't just about going around a region or researching for the professor."

She turned around, then looked back. "Tomorrow, Aquacorde Town, noon."

When she disappeared into the house next to Serena's, Jessie poked her head out of the door. "A date. Scandalous."

I groaned. "Shut up already."

...

The next morning, I reluctantly grabbed my backpack and put it on. Looking in the mirror, I kinda missed my trench. Heading downstairs for a quick breakfast of more pancakes, I left, bidding the three stooges farewell.

I met Serena by the gate, where she looked hesitant. No longer in her jumpsuit, she now wore a black tank top that matched well with her red skirt along with black stockings. She wore a dark pink hat with sunglasses on top as well as carrying a pink backpack.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, walking up to her.

She squeaked, startled. When she saw me, she relaxed. "Oh, sorry. You scared me."

She looked down the road. "Shauna gave me this."

She held up a letter. "She said she gave you one as well?"

I nodded and held up mine. "I'm just going to see what the whole deal is. I doubt I'll want to do research for the Professor."

Serena nodded. "Same here, but if it means getting away from Rhyhorn training, I'm game."

I laughed. "Well, we might as well go together."

I started down the road and she followed. I looked up at the blue sky, wondering what the meeting in Aquacorde would bring.

**Kinda refreshing to have a chapter where there isn't a battle. Just some good old settling in and meeting new people. Feels like it's been a while. We're only one chapter in so far, so I don't really need feedback yet. But it's still appreciated. That's it for now. Toodles!**


	3. Chapter 2: The Froakie

Serena and I made our way to Aquacorde Town in no time, finding Shauna along with two guys sitting at a cafe table. The town itself wasn't much bigger than Vaniville, with only a couple houses. However, this place did have a couple shops, even a place that I assumed was kind of like a Pokemon Center.

The whole town was cobblestone and a water fountain was placed in the middle. Around it were patches of grass that looked almost decorational. To get out of town, an aqueduct that acted as a bridge crossed over a river that led to a forest.

Shauna waved us over. "Over here you two!"

We joined her and I took the seat between her and Serena, looking at the two guys. Plainly said, they were the exact opposites. The kid that introduced himself as Tierno was a bit heavy with a circle of black hair on his head that stuck up in three spikes. He wore a black shirt with a Vanillite on it along with orange shorts.

The kid sitting next to him, Trevor, was smaller than him as well as really skinny. He wore gray shorts with a light green and white t-shirt. A camera hung from his neck and his orange hair almost looked like a helmet.

"So," I said when we were all introduced. "What's the deal with meeting here?"

Shauna brightened. "Well, Tierno, Trevor, and I were tasked by Professor Sycamore to gather research on Pokemon a month ago. We got our starter Pokemon then."

She patter her bag, which is where I assumed her pokeball was. "I recieved Bulbasaur. These two-"

"I got Squirtle," Tierno said proudly, releasing his Pokemon, which spurted water into the air. "He and I got some fine moves when we battle."

"And I got Charmander," Trevor said with a smile, his Fire type climbing onto his lab. "A little rowdy sometimes, but he does just fine."

I frowned. "Doesn't Kalos have its own starter Pokemon?"

Shauna nodded. "Oh yeah, definitely. But when it was time for us to get them, all they had were the Kanto starters."

She brought out a metal and glass container from underneath the table. "However, that's not the case with you two."

She pressed a button on the rectangular object and the glass lid lifted to reveal the pokeballs placed on a cushion. The one on the far left had a Grass type symbol on it while the middle one had the Fire symbol. And where the pokeball should've been on the right, there was nothing.

Serena raised the question before I could. "Where's the Water starter?"

"Well," Shauna looked at the other two and they shrugged. She turned back to us. "We have him, but I don't think you two would want him."

"Why not?" I questioned.

She sighed. "It's better if I show you."

She nodded at Trevor and he took out a pokeball. He opened it and a Froakie appeared on the table. However, it wasn't a normal Froakie. His yellow eyes were paler than regular Froakie eyes and his blue skin was so pale. He also didn't look happy. More depressed actually.

"What's wrong with him?" Serena asked.

Froakie seemed to look more sad after hearing that, but I'm pretty sure I was the only one to notice.

Shauna gave him a sad look, rubbing his head. "Froakie here is what trainers commonly refer to as a "shiny" Pokemon. Super rare, but what most don't realize is that shiny Pokemon often don't live long lives like regular Pokemon. Professor Sycamore only projected Froakie to live for about two more months."

"But there's nothing wrong with him physically?" Serena asked.

Shauna shook her head. "No. It's just the matter of his lifespan."

She went into details on it, Tierno and Trevor helping, but I reached out a hand to the Water starter. I touched his white hand and I knew I could feel something. He lifted his eyes to look at me. I could feel it. Behind those depressed pale yellow eyes, I could feel determination. A determination to prove oneself.

"I'll take him," I announced.

The conversation stopped abruptly and Froakie uttered a croak of confusion.

"What?" Shauna asked, confused.

"I said," I continued to look at Froakie and his eyes widened in wonder. "I'll take him."

I looked at Shauna. "From what I've heard, I take it no one wanted him?"

She nodded and I went on. "Then that means he's going to live a short, unfulfilled life. A life where he should spend it doing what he desires to. Journey, battle, experience having someone who cares enough for him to give him all that and more."

I grabbed his pokeball from where it sat on the table. "Tell Sycamore I'll take him."

Tierno and Trevor's jaws actually dropped, but Shauna looked unsure. "I honestly don't know if you could take him. And we're unable to contact the Professor here."

"Then," I said. "Take me to where we can."

"I," then Shauna looked confused. "Wait, we?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we."

She sighed. "We'd have to travel all the way to Lumiose."

I shrugged. "I'm fine with that. Just how long will it take?"

Shauna perked up. "Actually, not that long. You see, the three of us arrived her via Pidgeot. I'd say we could be back here in the evening at the very latest. That takes in account of a lunch break."

She grabbed three pokeballs from her purse, then looked at Tierno and Trevor. "Sorry guys. One of you is going to need to stay behind."

"That's alright," Trevor said, holding up his camera. "I was hoping to get some good birding done here."

"And I can stay behind as well too," Tierno said. "To keep Trevor here some company. Squirtle and I can practice our dance moves as well."

Serena hesitated, then said. "I'd love to go, but my mom is expecting me back soon."

I nodded. "That's fine. And hey, could you tell, um, my folks where I'll be going and when I'll be back?"

She nodded. "Sure."

She turned back to the two pokeballs and picked the Fire starter. "I'll take Fenniken."

Shauna smiled. "Good choice there. And here."

She took a red object out of her purse and handed it to her. "It's a Pokedex. Whether you use it or not to help the Professor's research, it's still a invaluable item."

She took the container next and handed it to Tierno. "Here. Look after this will you?"

He nodded and Shauna brought out two Pidgeots. "Get on."

I looked back to Froakie, who was still staring at me in amazement. I smiled. "You and I are going to be partners. Trust me."

He smacked the pokeball in my hand and was sucked into it with a flash of red light. Clipping the ball next to Arcanine's, I lifted myself onto Pidgeot's back."

"Let's go Pidgeot," Shauna said. "Back to the Lab."

With a burst of speed, we achieved liftoff. We soared high above Aquacorde Town before zooming Northwestwards. We flew over the vast countryside, passing occasional farms, and followed the river from Aquacorde Town for half an hour minutes. I grinned, feeling the wind rush past my face. Soon, we left the river and headed North. After another twenty or so minutes, Lumiose City came into sight.

Even during the day, Lumiose still looked grand, its tall and shiny towers reaching high. The Lumiose Tower was especially appealing. The city itself was circle shaped, but if you looked down on it from above, it looked more like a pokeball.

We flew over one of the corners and turned around, coming in for a landing at a mansion looking building. It had a lot of windows and a fence surrounding it. On either side of the gate were two Pokeball statues. We landed inside the gate and hopped off.

I was shaky for a moment. I hadn't done something like that since Charizard.

Once I regained my balance, I asked, "This is the lab? Looks more like a mansion."

Shauna nodded. "It is, but Sycamore turned it into a lab, with all the modern tech for studying and researching Pokemon."

I nodded. I guess I was used to tiny shacks being a Professor's lab. We went up to the large doors and Shauna pushed them open. We stepped into a large entrance hall, the carpet soft and blue, huge stairs leading up to a second floor. Several computers and machines I didn't recognize lined some of the walls and doors to separate rooms lay open. Scientists in white lab coats hustled back and forth between rooms, not paying us any mind.

Several Pokemon were out and about, including a couple starters. A Floette floated by and a Simipour walked alongside a scientist, waving their hands as if communicating. I jumped aside to let a Chespin and Litleo run by me and the Fire type chased the Grass starter out the door.

I nodded my approval. "A nice place for Pokemon."

Shauna grinned. "I agree. That's one of the main reasons I work here as an assistant."

She led me up the stairs and into a door on the right. We walked passed a couple scientists before walking into a large room with a desk off to the right. I assumed this was where Professor Sycamore worked.

Shauna tapped her chin. "Now, where could he be?"

She walked off to the left to a lady working at a desk. She looked in her mid-fifties and wore reading glasses on a chain. She was filing some papers, but looked up when we approached.

"Excuse me," Shauna asked. "But where is Professor Sycamore?"

"Out in the field," She said, stacking papers neatly. "He has one of his Holo Casters on hand if you need to contact him right away. Go to the main Holo Caster out in the entrance hall to call him."

Shauna nodded. "Thank you very much."

She went back to the door and I followed. We went back to the main hall where Shauna went up to one of the machines on the left wall. It looked like a bigger version of Trevor's camera and it sat on a short pillar. It was at waist high and Shauna pressed a button on it. The screen on it flickered for a second, projecting upwards in a blue hologram the word, "Connecting..."

After a couple seconds, the image turned into the upper waist of a man. He wore a lab coat over a shirt with an open collar. Some of his hair was pointed behind him to his left in a style I had never seen before. Must be Kalosian.

He smiled. _"Hey Shauna. How's everything going?"_

She smiled. "Great. I went to Aquacorde Town as instructed and did most of what you asked for."

He frowned._ "Most?"_

Shauna gestured to me. _"This is Zeno. He's the kid who moved into Vaniville Town. He wants Froakie."_

_"Oh,"_ realization spread over his face and he turned towards me. _"Excuse me for not introducing myself earlier. I am Professor Sycamore, a Pokemon Researcher."_

I nodded. "Shauna already introduced me, but I'm Zeno."

_"So,"_ Sycamore said, folding his hands together, getting straight to business. _"Has Shauna told you about the Froakie?"_

I nodded and held up his pokeball. "I know he has only two months to live. And that's precisely why I want him. I'm going to journey through the Kalos region, enter into the Kalos League, take down gyms, and compete in the Pokemon League. All with Froakie. I want to give him what no other trainer will."

I let him out and he appeared on the Holo Caster in front of Sycamore. The Water type looked at the Professor, hope evident in his eyes.

I continued, my hand on Froakie's head. "I look into his eyes and I don't see a soon-to-be dead Pokemon. I see a Pokemon willing to prove himself to the world that he can be what no one else thinks he can be. Please, let me have him as my starter Pokemon. I'm begging you."

I gripped the edge of the Holo Caster tightly with my free hand, Shauna looking at me with admiration.

Sycamore looked stern, his arms crossed. Then he burst into a wide smile. _"Wonderful!"_

He clapped a couple times, startling Froakie and I. _"Absolutely wonderful! That's what I've been waiting to hear."_

My mouth hung open. "You mean I can have him?"

Sycamore laughed. _"Of course! A trainer with your heart will bring out his full potential! I'm sure of it."_

Hands on his hips, he nodded at me. _"Zeno, go on your journey through Kalos. Give Froakie the full experience of what it means to be a Pokemon."_

He leaned forwards. _"Might I suggest backtracking to Santalune City? That's where the Pokemon gym for new trainers is. Go there and show Froakie what it's like to battle."_

Froakie's eyes had widened and tears had formed. "Froak froak!"

I smiled. "Of course."

_"And,"_ Sycamore went on._ "When you make it back to Lumiose, I should be back in my lab. So stop by and I can check up on Froakie."_

I nodded. "Will do Professor. I assure you, Froakie is in good hands. I'm not some newbie trainer."

Sycamore chuckled. _"You sure don't look like one. Now get going! I expect great things from you."_

The Holo Caster turned off and Froakie jumped into my arms. "Froak froak froak!"

I laughed and hugged him. "You and I Froakie, we'll beat the gyms and the Pokemon League. Together."

"Froakie!" Froakie cried.

I let him climb onto my shoulder and Shauna smiled. "You two are perfect for each other."

We went outside and I tickled Froakie under the chin. "Let's get our adventure in Kalos started!"

"Froakie!" he cried, pumping a fist into the air along with mine.

**I hope this chapter touched all your hearts. If it didn't, you're all monsters. Besides that, Zeno's new journey in Kalos begins here. Instead of just simply trying to live a life as a Pokemon trainer to escape his past, he has a purpose. Now sit back and enjoy. I'm getting these chapters out as fast as I can. Not too fast mind you. I gotta make sure they're presentable. And with that, I'm outta here. Toodles**


	4. Chapter 3: A Rival of a Different Color

Shauna took out her Holo Caster, which I knew now wasn't a camera. Or maybe it was both. Anyway, I saw her checking the time.

She pointed down the street to the left. "Down that way there's a cafe, but there's also one Vernal Avenue."

She pointed down the street in front of us that led to the Central Plaza. "There isn't that much difference to be honest. I'll leave it up to you."

I looked at Froakie on my shoulder. "How about you decide, huh? Straight, or left?"

Froakie tapped his chin, looking both ways before pointing down Vernal Avenue.

I smiled and nodded. "There you go. We're going straight."

Shauna laughed. "Well, alright then."

We headed down the street and entered the cafe. It was a grayish sort of color inside, but somehow it looked fancy. We got some tea and sandwiches for Shauna and I, and a couple Poke Puffs for Froakie and Arcanine. We headed out and sat at one of the tables, an umbrella keeping us in the shade. I bit into my food slowly, smiling as I watched Froakie dig into his food.

Unhooking my pokeball, I let out Arcanine, who shook himself. He glanced at Froakie and nosed him. Froakie took a step back and formed a bubble in his hands.

"Woah," I said, putting a hand between them. "He's a friend Froakie. You two will be battling alongside each other."

Froakie looked at Arcanine uneasily, but the Fire type simply blew a tiny spit of fire at the bubble, popping it. Froakie looked at his hands, then went back to eating, this time climbing onto Arcanine's back to finish it. I smiled warmly of how well they were getting along.

Shauna was looking at my Fire type. "Just how powerful is he?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. We've only been through one region together him and I, but that's about it."

She nodded. "Bulbasaur definitely couldn't stand a chance against him."

"Definitely not," I agreed, finishing my sandwich. Noticing Shauna had finished hers, I asked, "Should we be going?"

She looked at her Holo Caster again. "It's only noon, so we should get back earlier than expected."

She grabbed her purse and stood up. I followed suit, gathering our trash and tossing it into a garbage can.

As Shauna made to get the two pokeballs with the Pidgeots, she stopped when we saw the loud explosion. We turned to look at the Central Plaza to see two trainers standing fifty feet from another. Smoke rose from the middle and a Scizor flew out of it. It landed near its trainer, adopting a battle stance. When the smoke cleared, a Tyranitar lay fainted in a small crater.

The guy with the Tyranitar looked dumbfounded as he returned his fainted Pokemon while the girl with the Scizor looked smug. She wore black combat boots, ripped black pants, and a black leather jacket over a t-shirt. She had hoop earrings and a lip piercing, her eyes a cold blue. Her hair was semi-short and everything about her screamed goth, all the way down to her shirt where a white outlined pokeball was severed in half on a black background.

"And that's another win for me," she yelled, arms thrown out wide. "If anyone wishes to challenge me, well,"

She chuckled. "I pity you and your Pokemon."

When no one answered her, she grinned from ear to ear. "No one? Really? Oh well then. Guess I'll take my prize."

She stalked up to the guy she battled, who couldn't have been much older than thirteen. "Alright kid. Hand over the Pokemon."

He shook his head. "N-no!"

She frowned. "You agreed to the rules kid."

Her eyes narrowed. "Now hand over the Pokemon. No one scams Clara Acord out of a deal."

Her Scizor walked up behind the kid and hoisted him up by the collar. I had enough of this.

"Watch Froakie," I said and began to walk over there. "Come on Arcanine."

Arcanine shook Froakie off of his back and into Shauna's arms before walking alongside me.

"Hey," I shouted. "Leave him alone!"

Clara looked up. She was what, 16, 17? Not much older than me.

"Kid," she said, looking my way. "Stay outta this."

I shook my head. "No. I can't allow you to take his Pokemon."

She grinned evilly. "And what are you going to do? Force me to leave or something."

I snapped my finger and Arcanine crouched, fangs bared. "If I have to."

She chuckled. "You got spunk. Fine."

She moved away from the kid, her Scizor dropping him. "Hmm, because you answered my battle summoning late, I guess I'll use two Pokemon then."

She tossed a pokeball. "Let's beat this kid Barbaracle."

The Rock and Water type Pokemon appeared and glared at us.

I narrowed my eyes. "Two-on-one seems a little unfair don't you think?"

She laughed. "Sucks that no one wants to help you huh?"

"Now that just isn't true."

She stopped laughing as someone stepped out of the crowd of onlookers. A guy of about 16 walked forwards, his black spiky hair sticking out of a red pokeball cap. He latched a pokeball onto his belt with a finger-less gloved hand and smiled, the Pikachu on his shoulder sparking electricity from his red cheeks.

He came to stand next to me. "If it's a double battle you want it's a double battle you're going to get."

Clara narrowed her eyes. "Fine then. Barbaracle, Scizor, use Razor Shell on the Arcanine and Bullet Punch on the Pikachu!"

"Arcanine," I yelled. "Flame Wheel on the Scizor!"

"Pikachu," the guy said. "Quick Attack on both of them."

Pikachu leaped off its trainer in a blur and slammed into Scizor before headbutting Barbaracle. Both enemy Pokemon stumbled back and had to regain their balance. Arcanine then rolled into Scizor in a fiery blaze, sending the Pokemon flying backwards.

Clara looked enraged. "Scizor! Get back up and pummel that Pikachu with Bullet Punch! Barbaracle, use Stone Edge on Arcanine!"

The trainer grinned. "Pikachu, Iron Tail on the Stone Edge!"

"Use Flare Blitz!" I shouted.

Arcanine's body became engulfed in flames and he charged Scizor. Pikachu leaped into the air, dodging the Steel type's Bullet Punch and slammed his Iron Tail into several Stone Edge's, sending them flying back at Barbaracle. The Water type stumbled backwards with each strike and Arcanine slammed into Scizor.

The Bug type was out of commission and the guy next to me shouted, "Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaachuuuuu!"

Pikachu fired the Electric attack and zapped Barbaracle, blasting him backwards. My eyes widened. That was probably the most powerful Thunderbolt I had ever seen.

Pikachu returned to his trainer's shoulder and Clara looked so angry, her right eye was twitching.

She composed herself and walked away after returning her Pokemon. "That's fine. I didn't want that weak Tyranitar anyway."

Before she reached the crowd, she turned her head back. "I'll be back one of these days to finish you off."

Then she shouldered her way through the crowd and disappeared.

As the crowd dispersed, I turned to look for the kid, but he had disappeared. Instead, I turned to my battle partner. "Thanks for the assistance."

He grinned. "Just happy to help."

He eyes my Arcanine. "Though he looks strong enough to take them on himself. So cool."

I raised an eyebrow. Now he sounded a bit like a little kid.

His smile was wide as he went up to my Pokemon and rubbed his head. "Doesn't he remind you of Gary's Arcanine Pikachu?"

"Pika pika."

I just shook my head and smiled, walking over. "He and I have been travelling together for almost a year now. Definitely not as long as you and your Pikachu. You two are powerful."

He rubbed the back of his head. "You think so? Nah. We haven't even won a single league yet."

He looked at his Pikachu fondly. "But Kalos is the one. We're gonna compete in the Pokemon League and come out on top. Right Pikachu?"

"Chaaaa." Pikachu cried.

"Anyway," he said. "I haven't even introduced myself yet have I."

He stuck out his gloved hand. "Ash Ketchum is the name."

"Ash," I repeated, then I realized who he was. "_The _Ash Ketchum?"

"Uh," he looked confused. "Yeah?"

"I've heard stories of your battles," I said, a little in awe, but I mainly knew him from Jessie, James, and Meowth's stories. "You've fought in the League conferences all the way from Kanto to Unova."

He looked sheepish. "Well, I wouldn't say it's that impressive."

I shook my head, then shook his hand. "My name is Zeno."

He shook back. "Nice to meet you Zeno. You going to be participating in the Kalos League?"

I grinned, realizing that I could likely face Ash himself at some point. "You bet."

Shauna chose this moment to walk over. "Hey. Great battle."

Froakie jumped from her arms and onto my shoulder.

I grinned at him. "Hey there Froakie. You watched the battle?"

He nodded vigorously. "Froakie!"

"Good," I said. "Because one day you'll be able to do better than that."

"Froakie!"

Ash looked confused again. "I have a Froakie too, but yours looks different."

"Shiny," I said, not wanting to mention Froakie's eventual fate.

"Ah," Ash said, realization dawning on his face. "I have a shiny Noctowl back home actually."

Then he eyed Froakie. "Say Zeno, how about a battle?"

I raised an eyebrow. "A battle?"

He nodded. "How about a two on two? Arcanine vs Pikachu and then our Froakies."

I looked at Froakie and he nodded confidently.

I raised my right arm and smiled. "You're on."

Ash grinned and raised his right arm and hit it against mine. "Then let's get down to business."

**So if it wasn't already clear in the Prologue, we have Ash Ketchum in the book. To those most definitely wondering, he'll only show up occasionally. He won't be a travelling companion. He'll be one of Zeno's rivals. So, next chapter is when their rivalry begins. Till then. Toodles**


	5. Chapter 4: Familiar Faces

Ash looked at the Machokes arriving alongside the cement trucks, here to repair the damage caused by Clara and her battle. "How about we take this to the Pokemon Center. They should have a battlefield there."

I nodded. "Probably a good idea. I think the Machokes are glaring at us."

Shauna jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "There's a Center down Vernal Avenue. We should go there."

"Sounds like a plan," Ash grinned and set off at a run. "Last one there has to start last."

_"He's such a kid,"_ I thought.

I climbed on Arcanine and reached out a hand to Shauna. "You coming?"

She sighed. "Oh what the heck."

She smiled and grasped my hand and I pulled her aboard. "Just so you know, we'll likely be back later than projected."

"That's fine with me," I said. "Now hold on Froakie. You too Shauna."

Arcanine took off with a burst of speed and we zoomed past Ash by the time he was halfway down the avenue. We skidded to a stop outside the Pokemon Center and had to wait another 30 seconds for Ash to catch up.

He didn't seem to be out of breath. "Wow, now your Arcanine really does remind me of Gary's."

"Pika pika," Pikachu agreed.

We went around the back way and ended up at the battlefield. I took one end and Ash took the other. Shauna went to sit on a bench with Arcanine laying his head in her lap. She looked startled for a second before petting him.

I tickled Froakie's chin. "Let's have a great first battle together, alright?"

"Froak," he responded with enthusiasm and jumped onto the battlefield.

Ash grinned and swung out a pokeball, his Froakie appearing with a flash of light.

"Alright Froakie," Ash said, pumping a fist into the air. "Let's give them a good battle!"

"Froakie!"

Ash nodded at me. "You won the race. You go first."

"With Pleasure," I said. "Froakie, use Bubble!"

Froakie formed a bubble in his hands and shot it at the other Froakie.

"Dodge it," Ash said and his Froakie jumped into the air. "Hit him with a Pound!"

His Froakie landed near mine and pounded him in the side, sending him tumbling through the dirt.

"Don't give up," I shouted. "Quick Attack!"

My Froakie leaped to his feet and sped towards Ash's. He rammed into him, sending him flying backwards.

"Use Quick Attack as well," Ash yelled. "Then follow-up with Pound!"

His Froakie burst forwards, slamming into mine and pounding him into the ground.

"Froak," Froakie cried out in pain.

"You got this," I encouraged. "Use Bubble!"

His eyes sharpened and he fired a bubble. It hit Ash's Froakie in the face and he was knocked backwards.

"Let's finish this," I shouted. "Quick Attack!"

Froakie sped forwards as Ash shouted, "Quick Attack!"

His Froakie leaped to his feet and I yelled, "Move to the right and use Pound!"

Froakie dodged Ash's and pounded him on the back, his own momentum added with the Pound sending him crashing through the dirt. Ash's Froakie lay there, fainted.

"You did it," I said proudly.

Froakie clapped his hands in joy. "Froakie froakie!"

He leaped into my arms and I hugged him. "You did good. And next time we battle, you'll be even stronger."

"Froakie," he said, pumping his hand into the air.

"Now go over to Shauna," I said. "It's time for Arcanine to battle."

Froakie joined Shauna as Arcanine padded up next to me. Ash looked at his Pikachu and both nodded. He leaped off of Ash's shoulder and crouched on the battlefield, sparks flying from his cheeks.

"You can go first this time," I shouted as Arcanine moved in front of me.

"Thanks," Ash said. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"

"Pikaaa!"

...

Robert exited the Pokemon Lab, equally excited and depressed. He was hoping to get to meet Professor Sycamore, but no such luck. He did get to receive a Pokedex for the Kalos region as well as a Holo Caster. Professor Juniper really did come through this time.

"Oh well," he looked at his shiny new Pokedex. "I guess I can meet Professor Sycamore later."

He patted the pokeball now clipped next to Snorlax's. "And I got a Chespin. What a great way to start off a journey."

He had to remember why he was here though. Getting a job as Professor Juniper's Junior Assistant was an honor enough, but now he was sent here to Kalos to get first hand experience on Kalos Pokemon.

_"I'm definitely taking charge of my future,"_ he thought proudly. _"I thought I would've been more into Gyms and the Pokemon League, but times change I guess."_

He wondered where he should go next when he heard battling coming from behind the Pokemon Center across the street.

"Might as well check it out," he thought. "Might get to see some Kalos Pokemon. Studying how they battle would prove invaluable to future research."

Heading across the street, he wondered why there were so few Pokemon Researchers in the world.

...

"Miss? Miss? Are you awake?"

Alex groaned groggily and opened her eyes. She blinked and focused on the Nurse Joy leaning over her.

"Oh good," Nurse Joy smiled. "Are you feeling well? You came in here and passed out on the couch a while ago."

Alex looked around. She was in the Pokemon Center lobby. A few trainers milled around, a couple buying potions at the store inside. A TV hung above where Nurse Joy would usually sit behind the front desk, ready to receive Pokemon. The news was on and a woman with striking pink hair and red tinted glasses sat, reporting on something or another.

Alex looked at Nurse Joy again and rubbed her head. "Sorry. Late flight."

"Ah," Nurse Joy said sympathetically. "I understand. Would you like a pill?"

Alex waved her hand. "No thanks. The headache will go away by itself. What I need is something to distract me."

Nurse Joy nodded and pointed to the back. "Two trainers have started a Pokemon battle out in the back. Why don't you go watch it."

Alex stood and stretched. "Thanks. I think I'll do that."

She walked towards the back doors, still tired from the flight. She hoped this battle would be good enough to wake her up.

...

Pikachu sped forward, zigzagging across the battlefield much faster than either the Froakies.

I grinned. "Show him what you can do. Extreme Speed!"

Arcanine zoomed forwards, slamming into Pikachu. The Electric Mouse Pokemon went flying, but landed on his feet.

"We wont lose that easily," Ash said confidently and raised his fist. "Now use Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu ran forwards, electric energy gathering around him, shaping him into a bullet.

"Meet him with Flame Wheel!" I shouted.

Arcanine rolled into a wheel of Fire and sped for him.

"Dodge and use Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu cut off the Volt Tackle, leaping to the side, and slammed his tail into Arcanine's side. The Fire type was knocked out of his wheel of fire and send crashing into the ground.

"It's just a Pikachu," I called out to my Pokemon. "We can take him! Fire Fang!"

Arcanine bounded to his feet, his mouth full of flames. He roared and leaped at Pikachu.

"Just a Pikachu," Ash repeated me, grinning. "You underestimate us! Let's show him the strength of a future Pokemon Master Pikachu! Electro Ball!"

Pikachu leaped into the air, a ball of electricity forming on the end of his tail. "Pika!"

He flipped midair and shot the Electro Ball. "Chi-bang!"

Arcanine was hit in the face, the electricity eradicating the flames.

I could feel the rush of the battle, something I hadn't felt since the Alolan Pokemon League. "Extreme Speed!"

"Match him with Quick Attack!" Ash commanded.

Arcanine sprang for Pikachu at supersonic speeds, but Pikachu appeared above him and zoomed down, striking Arcanine in the back.

"Paralyze him with Nuzzle!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu's cheeks sparked and he rubbed them against Arcanine's fur. Arcanine growled in pain as he was paralyzed, sparks of electricity running along his body.

"Heat Wave!" I yelled.

Arcanine roared, waves of heat pouring off his body, carrying Pikachu away. He slammed into the Pokemon Center wall next to the opening door as the paralysis effect was wiped away by the flames.

"Iron Tail!" Ash shouted.

I noticed someone walk out of the Pokemon Center as Pikachu sprang forwards, but I paid them no mind.

"Use Flamethrower!" I commanded, throwing my hand out in front of me.

Arcanine opened his mouth and blasted a jet of flames at the incoming Pikachu. Swinging his tail in front of him, Pikachu deflected the flames with the Iron Tail. Splitting the flames apart, he smacked Arcanine in the head, stopping the onslaught of flames.

Arcanine stumbled backwards and Ash shouted, "Finish with Thunderbolt!"

"Pikachuuuuuu!"

Arcanine was zapped and he collapsed, his fur singed.

I walked forwards to meet Ash in the middle, his Pikachu now on his shoulder. "Wow. That was exhilarating. I haven't battled like that since the Alolan League."

Ash grinned. "Heck yeah it was amazing!"

"You know," I said, fist bumping him. "You might come off as a little kiddish, but you get real serious in battle. I respect that."

"Zeno?" I heard two voices at once behind us.

I turned around and my eyes went wide. Standing just ten feet away were two people I didn't expect to see here.

"Alex," I choked. "Robert?"

...

Robert had walked to the back of the Pokemon Center at the same time as Alex, though he went around from the side. Not that he hadn't noticed Alex, he was just too busy trying to figure out why the guy with the Arcanine looked so familiar. He could only see the back of him, so maybe it was just deja vu.

Only when he heard him speak about the Alolan League after the battle did he finally recognize him and step forwards.

"Zeno?"

...

Alex walked out of the Pokemon Center and was immediately woken up as the Pikachu slammed into the wall next to her. She was irritated enough to yell at the trainers, but she stopped when she saw the trainer. The one commanding the Arcanine.

There was no way in Arceus he was here. But the way he battled, the way he spoke commands, it was all too familiar. His words to the other trainer after the battle merely confirmed what she couldn't believe.

She took a step forwards, then another. "Zeno?"

...

"ZENO!"

Alex tackled me in a hug and we crashed onto the dirt battlefield. I smiled and was about to say something when I felt pain in my cheek.

I touched it. "You smacked me!?"

Alex looked furious as she knelt next to me. "You left Kanto and came here and you didn't tell me!?"

"Heh heh," I shrunk away from her slightly. "You see Alex, I kinda had no way to contact you."

She raised her hand and I lifted my own to protect my face. "Which I admit was an error on my part. Sorry."

Alex grimaced, then sighed, lowering her arm. "Jeez. I can't stay mad at you. I mean, I did come here to escape, so I guess I'm at fault as well."

Where she got that idea I had no idea, but I was willing to take that lifeline. Before I could say anything however, Robert came over, grinning like a fool. "Hey Zeno. Long time no see pal."

"Alola," I said, still under Alex.

Robert seemed to notice this and said, "Hey Alex. Let the man up and breathe."

Alex reluctantly got up and brushed off her jean shorts. Looking at her now, I could see how she changed in the last six months. She looked a bit more mature and she had added red highlights into her blonde hair, which actually looked pretty good. She also wore a beige t-shirt, which looked plain, but it suited her perfectly, especially with her green eyes.

I grasped Robert's hand and he pulled me up. He seemed to be as fit as the last time I saw him. He wore gray cargo shorts and a blue shirt with a pokeball symbol. His dusty blonde hair was trimmed neatly, not too short, but not medium length either.

He pounded me on the back, grinning. "It's been too long Zeno. I mean, you don't call, you don'r write. I'm going to end up thinking you either hate me or your dead."

"Ha ha," I said.

Dusting myself off, I noticed that Shauna had come closer to us, standing next to Ash.

I straightened. "I should probably introduce you guys to each other."

I gestured to my friends from Alola. "This is Alex and Robert, my travelling companions from the Alola region."

"And she," I pointed at Shauna. "Is Shauna. She's been helping me out with my new starter Pokemon, Froakie."

Froakie leaped onto my shoulder. "Froakie!"

"Woah," Robert's eyes widened. "A shiny!"

He fumbled with his Pokedex as he took it out of his pocket and began analyzing him.

"Froakie secretes flexible bubbles from its chest and back. The bubbles reduce the damage it would otherwise take when attacked."

I gestured to Ash. "And this is Ash."

Robert's eyes widened again as well as Alex's.

Robert shook his hand and as well as Alex, leaving Ash to look a bit overwhelmed.

"I watched your progress throughout the Unova League last month," Robert said excitedly. "You were amazing!"

Alex was grinning. "And your battles in the Ever Grand Conference were fantastic!"

Ash was rubbing the back of his head and Pikachu looked slightly irritated. A second later, he zapped both Alex and Robert.

"Sorry about that," Ash apologized, but Alex and Robert brushed it aside.

"No worries," they said.

"That's good," Ash said. "Pikachu can get overwhelmed by people sometimes. His jolts are usually playful."

"Chaaa."

"Anyway," Alex looked at me. "What are you doing in Kalos? What happened in Kanto?"

Ash raised an eyebrow at me. "You're from Kanto too? What city or town?"

"Saffron," I said, thinking back to the time I did actually live there with Willow. "And nothing happened in Kanto. So me and my, uh, parents moved here."

Not wanting Alex and Robert to ask any more questions with the current company around, I said, "Why don't we head inside?"

Shauna tapped her Holo Caster. "We need to get back soon Zeno."

"Shoot," I said, looking at the sky. We were reaching late afternoon. "Time sure does fly by."

I looked at Shauna. "Do you have any other Pidgeots?"

Shauna looked between me and my two friends before sighing, but she smiled. "No, but you can borrow the Pidgeot I was riding. Just make sure you give the three of them to Tierno and Trevor. Tell them I'll be waiting in the lab."

I nodded. "Will do."

I passed two of them to Alex and Robert. "Here, hold on to these two."

I turned to Ash. "That battle was amazing. Next time, Arcanine and I will crush you."

Ash smirked, raising his fist. "The same goes with Froakie and I. We'll be much stronger then."

"Bring it on," I said, fist bumping him. "Good luck on your journey."

He nodded. "You too."

He left, then Shauna.

I turned back to Alex and Robert. "I think it's about time you met my "parents"."

**Well, the chapters are getting longer. That has to be a good sign. In other news, Alex and Robert are back! A new region, new people, new rivals, but familiar faces. I'd say things are going pretty well don't you say? Now, let's continue onwards! Toodles!**


	6. Chapter 5: Hidden Enemies

Alex, Robert, and I flew out of Lumiose City on the back of the Pidgeots. We soared over the outer city and into the countryside. I smiled, my hair pushed back due to the wind. This could never get old.

Alex directed her Pidgeot to fly next to mine and we soared side-by-side. I grinned at her and she just laughed. Suddenly Robert and his Pidgeot twirled out of nowhere, diving into the lead. He looked back and gave us a thumbs up.

I patted Pidgeot's feathery neck. "C'mon. Let's beat him."

Pidgeot squawked and burst forwards, but so did Alex's. The three of us raced across the sky, reaching the river that led to Aquacorde Town. Finally, the town came into sight. We came in for a landing, which Robert managed to beat us by a few seconds.

He pumped his fists into the air when we touched down next to him. "Ha! Beat ya!"

"Congrats," I said, feeling a bit shaky on my legs.

Tierno and Trevor waved from a cafe table. "Hey, you're back."

I nodded and sat at the table, Alex and Robert following me. "Shauna said she'll be waiting at the Lab."

"So," Trevor asked, leaning forwards. "Were you able to keep Froakie?"

I held up the pokeball. "Yep. And we were able to win our first battle together with another trainer."

Tierno nodded appreciatively. "I knew Sycamore would let you. He's an understanding guy."

He looked at my two friends. "Who are they?"

"Oh yeah," I said. "Guys, these are my friends from Alola. Alex and Robert. Friends, they're Tierno and Trevor."

As they shook hands, I noticed three cups on the table, two by Tierno and Trevor. Taking a guess, I asked, "Was Serena here?"

Tierno nodded. "She was, but she left in a hurry once she saw the news."

He pointed at a TV inside the cafe behind us. It was replaying old news, but I could clearly see the Lumiose Tower. Not just that, but I could see Ash Ketchum. He was standing on top of the tower with his Pikachu and Froakie, a Garchomp looking mighty pissed.

"That's Ash," I said aloud.

Tierno looked at me. "You know him?"

I nodded. "Shauna and I met him while in Lumiose."

"Then Serena must know him as well," Trevor said. "She said something about needing to meet him."

Looking back at the TV, I noticed something off about the Garchomp. It looked relatively fine except for the eyes. Its eyes were glowing a sickly purple. It looked like Ash was trying to calm it. Finally an Iron Tail from Pikachu knocked some sense into it. Suddenly, the ground beneath Pikachu broke and Ash jumped off the tower after him.

I jerked forwards, eyes wide. "What!?"

"No way," Robert said. "That's suicidal."

"No," Alex murmured. "He really cares about his Pokemon."

Just in time, he was saved by a Blaziken, but the Blaziken looked different from usual.

"Mega Blaziken," Trevor explained from our looks and I nodded.

"Megas," I said. "We saw a couple back in Alola."

"Anyway," Tierno said. "He's fine. But Serena seems to really want to meet him."

"Huh," I said. "Interesting."

High-fived the both of them. "Well, I'll see you two around. I'm heading home."

They nodded and got on their Pidgeots. "See ya!"

They flew off and Robert nudged me. "I see you. Making new friends here in Kalos, trying to replace us."

I gave him the stink-eye and elbowed him in the ribs. "Now come on. Jessie is likely to kill me for being back this late in the evening."

...

I was about to knock on the front door, when I felt something. I looked behind me at Vaniville Town. I glanced at the trees outlining the town and then at the houses.

"What's wrong," Alex asked, looking at my face with worry.

"I don't know," I said, the feeling going away. "I just... I thought I felt something. Never mind."

Shrugging it away, I knocked on the front door. "You know, I should probably get myself a key to this place."

Jessie swung open the door, dressed in a white fur coat with her hair down. Where she got it I had not the slightest idea. Her and James' wardrobe always confused me.

She held her hand to her head in mock distress. "Zeno! Do you know how worried sick James and I were? We were about ready to call Officer Jenny."

I sighed. "Alex, Robert, this is Jessie. As you can see, she is a bit of a handful."

"I'll say," James said from behind Jessie. "Sorry kid. She's trying to guilt you."

"I can see that," I responded.

Jessie looked at my friends, then perked up immediately. "Oh, you must be Alex."

She took her hand and smiled. "Do come in."

She led Alex into the house and she gave me a look like, _"What is going on?"_

I just groaned while Robert burst into laughter. "Oh this is going to be great."

He elbowed me playfully and waltzed into the house.

"Oh yeah," I said. "Just great."

I went in and closed the door behind me.

...

Outside, the sun was beginning to set. The finals ray of the day shone on Vaniville Town, the shadows growing ever darker. A cloaked figure lays within the shadow of a tree, watching as the boy closed the door behind him.

Beside him, another cloaked figure appears, dressed in purple robes like the other.

"Is he the one?" the second one asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes," the first replies in a hoarse whisper.

"Then we must kill him," the other said, whipping out a jagged knife from his cloak.

"No," the hoarse-voiced one said, grabbing the other's arm. "The All-Powerful One wants him alive to see chaos engulf this region."

He lowered his knife. "Fine, but I don't get the reason why we must let him live. What purpose does Cha- Aack!"

He slumped backwards, his throat slashed by his comrade. Blood splattered the tree and the first cloaked figure caught him before he fell.

"You are not worthy to speak the name of the All-Powerful One," he whispered, dragging the knife across the other's face. "Much less question their divine authority. He must live because he is meant to."

He let out a Gengar and said, "Take care of the mess."

With a swish of his cloak, he disappeared into the darkness. Gengar rolled out its tongue and licked up the blood coating the grass and tree. Then he stomped on the ground, shadows pulling the body into the darkness. Soon, no trace remained, not even the Gengar.

...

"We've only heard stories," Jessie said, swallowing her food. "Do tell us of what Zeno was like in Alola."

"Yeah," I thought. "Just great."

I clunked my head down on the table as Alex and Robert talked to my "folks". They were actually getting along pretty well.

"Wait," Meowth jumped onto the table. "He died!?"

Alex and Robert looked positively alarmed. "He can talk!?"

"Trust me," I said, my voice muffled my the wooden table. "That's not the weirdest thing about these three."

"Back to the topic at hand," James said. "Zeno died."

"But he's still here," I could feel Jessie's gaze on me.

"He died alright," Robert said with a grin. "Defeating the Shadow once and for all."

_"I didn't tell them about seeing the Shadow in my dream did I," _I thought. _"Probably best not to. He can't hurt us anymore anyway."_

"Then he came back," Alex continued. "Saved me in the process."

"Aww," Jessie cooed.

I groaned. "You guys done yet?"

"Just about," Robert said. "Then we all competed in the Alolan League, which Zeno made it to the Final Round, where he lost to Hau, another one of our friends there."

Robert knocked the flat of his fork on the table. "Now we're done. I think Zeno's happy."

I lifted my head and glared at him, before looking at Jessie, James, and Meowth. "I need to ask you guys something."

Jessie nodded. "Go ahead."

I breathed in. "Well, it's not so much a question as it is telling you. I... I'm going to journey around Kalos and compete in the Pokemon League here."

James leaned on his hands. "Why?"

I took Froakie's pokeball and let him out.

"Froak," he said, hopping on my shoulder.

"This is Froakie," I told them. "I got him as a starter Pokemon today, but there's a catch."

Jessie raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"He's what others would call a shiny Pokemon," I said and James looked excited. "But shiny Pokemon tend to not live as long as regular Pokemon. He's only projected to live for another two months."

Jessie covered her mouth and Meowth began conversing with Froakie while Alex and Robert looked at me in surprise. That's right. I hadn't told them that yet.

"So I want to journey with him," I said. "I want him to live as a Pokemon, experiencing the joys of battle, feel the loss of defeat, and strive to become stronger because of it. I want to compete in the Pokemon League with him and come out on top."

Meowth stopped talking with Froakie and looked at Jessie and James. "It's true. Froakie here is wanting to do all that. He's been waiting for a while for a trainer to come along to give him a chance to prove himself."

"Do it kid," James said, nodding his head at us. "And I take it you two will join him?"

We looked at Alex and Robert and they nodded.

"Of course," Alex said. "And I'll compete in the League as well. Give Zeno and Froakie here another rival to go up against."

I gave her a sideways grin. "Bring it on."

"Froak!" Froakie agreed with me.

"Just look after Zeno," Jessie said. "He tends to get in trouble."

"Believe me," Robert said with a laugh. "We know."

"Trouble usually finds me," I grumbled.

Froakie yawned from my shoulder and I rubbed his head. "Froakie's had an exhausting day. I think we should all get rest if we're leaving tomorrow."

Alex and Robert nodded understandingly and Jessie pointed to a door off to the side in the living room. "There's a spare bedroom in there. You can have it Alex."

Alex waved her hand. "No, I couldn't. I-"

Robert raised a hand. "I got the couch out here."

Alex shot him a glare and James laughed. "It's decided. Robert will be out here and Alex will take the spare bedroom. Meanwhile Zeno is going to be selfish and take his own bedroom without offering it."

"Oh ha ha," I said sarcastically. "I see what you're doing there."

After letting out Arcanine to sleep curled up on my floor, I let Froakie climb on him so he could sleep in his fur. I smiled and laid my head back on my pillow. Tomorrow I would be back on a journey through a region.

_"At least this time,"_ I thought._ "It won't be like Alola."_

However, my dreams would soon prove me to be wrong. So very wrong.

...

Like so many times in Alola, I found myself standing in darkness. I looked around, spotting a light in the distance. I walked towards it, my vision getting fuzzier with every step. Then, everything cleared.

In the middle of the black landscape stood a tree. On the left side, leaves and flowers flourish, while on the right, the branches droop, bare of flora. Blood drips from the tips and paints the side of Death red. Radiant energy spills forth from the side of Life, a rainbow of colors. The auras fill the void of darkness, lighting the shadows.

A calming presence fills the area, a green aura emanating from the whole tree. Suddenly, the lights retreat back into the tree. The shadows seep back to it, hoping to reclaim what was once lost. Then the darkness exploded with violet colors, the tree sinking down into purple liquid. As it shriveled up and died, something rose from the liquid. Giant claws reached out and grasped the tree, pulling itself out while bringing it down.

_"I am rising," _said a raspy voice that I remembered from six months ago. _"You cannot stop me."_

The tree sank further, the wood dissolving into goopy liquid.

_"I am the embodiment of Chaos,"_ spoke the voice, the claws grasping onto the sides of the ground, violet liquid splashing around me. _"Soon you will discover that you are not strong enough to defeat me. I am nothing like the Shadow. You will see that."_

Yellow eyes flashed from within the violet liquid and I turned my gaze away, my instincts telling me not to look. A roar filled my ears and I was plunged into the ground.

...

I saw a cocoon. Something curled up in an egg shape. It was connected to thick red-pulsing wires in a circular room. As I stared at it, I felt the presence of destruction, of death.

I saw a magnificent creature with antlers radiating light, trapped in a huge tank filled with clear liquid. She cried, a beautiful cry muffled by the water as electricity shocked her, the energy transferred into another tank, where a human figure floated.

I was in a cave. A small lake was in the middle of the large cavern, the water green. I could sense a multitude of presences within, waiting.

"Hero Born of Darkness."

That voice. It wasn't like the other voice. This one gave me a calming sort of feeling. A feeling of order.

"We will wait and watch to see if humanity is worthy. Troubling times are ahead. Know that you are not enough, not like last time. You are but one human. You cannot hope to stand against chaos itself."

My eyes shot open. I was awake. I clutched my heart and breathed in and out.

"Not again," I whispered. "Not again."

...

I was outside where Jessie, James, and Meowth found me.

I smiled. "They awake yet?"

Jessie nodded. "They're getting ready."

She nodded at James and he held out an ivory decorated box.

"What's this?" I asked, taking it.

"Open it kid," Meowth said proudly.

I took the lid off and found a knife laying on a small cushion. It was around five inches in length and was sheathed in fine black leather. I picked it up and put the box down. I unsheathed it and marveled at its beauty.

The hilt was just big enough to fit in my grasp, leather wrapped around it. The blade itself was black and looked very sharp. It was slightly curved and I twirled it experimentally. It had nice balance and I flipped it to where the back edge of the knife was pressed against my arm. I flipped it around again, Froakie watching my movements in amazement.

"I like it," I decided, smiling. "Thanks you guys."

They all hugged me and I relaxed in their embrace. It was nice to do this.

They pulled away and Jessie nodded. "Go out there and beat the Kalos League. For us."

I grinned. "I will."

I looked at Froakie. "We will."

...

While I waited for Alex and Robert to come outside, I practiced with my knife. I sliced the air, flipping my blade around and moving my body, imagining targets in front of me. I rolled to the side and came up with my knife pressed against a tree lightly. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Froakie practicing my movements with his hand, slicing, rolling, jabbing. He did this over and over until Alex and Robert came outside.

I stuck the knife back into its sheath on my waist and went to meet my friends, Froakie jumping on my shoulder and Arcanine lumbering after us.

"You guys ready?" I asked.

Robert pounded his chest with one fist. "Heck yeah man. Let's begin our adventure in Kalos."

Alex smiled at me. "Always."

I nodded and turned to look at Vaniville's gate. "Then let's go."

**And so it begins! An adventure in Kalos! What awaits our heroes in this lovely region? What enemies lie waiting in the darkness, doing the bidding of the All-Powerful One? You'll just have to wait and see. Till next time folks. Toodles**


	7. Chapter 6: Journey Start

Robert stretched his arms as we made our way to Aquacorde Town. "Ah, yeah. It sure feels good to be on the road again."

"I know what you mean," Alex said, looking at the sun. "Though not as warm as Alola."

"Kalos has its own charms," I said, breathing in the sweet air. "And as far as I can tell, it's people are quite nice."

My thoughts went back to Ash's and my battle against Clara in Lumiose. She was interesting to say the least.

"What are you thinking?" Alex asked, looking at me.

I shrugged. "Just of this girl Ash and I battled in Lumiose. She was battling this kid and if she won, she'd take his Pokemon. If I or Ash hadn't stepped in..."

I shook my head. "We probably won't run into her again."

"Anyway," I said. "I don't think I asked. Why are you two here in Kalos?"

"What, didn't want us here?" Robert joked.

Alex smiled, but it was merely to hide her sadness. "I came, well, because of my family. I had to get away."

I nodded. "Yeah, that I understand."

Alex raised her eyebrow. "Speaking of which, why did you leave Kanto? Weren't you supposed to be reconnecting with your father?"

I grimaced. "Yeah, some things don't turn out well. "

Alex nodded and I could tell she was trying to stop herself from shouting "I knew it!" Honestly, I didn't blame her for thinking that. I'm pretty sure I knew it was probably never going to work from the start, but I had to try. If I never did, it would haunt me for the rest of my life.

Robert cleared his throat, breaking the silent tension as we entered Aquacorde Town. "Anyway, to why I'm here."

He scratched his chin. "Recently I was hired on as Professor Juniper's assistant back home in Unova. Pays well. But Juniper sent me here to get data on Kalos Pokemon. I was going to meet the Kalos Pokemon Professor, but-"

"But Sycamore was out in the field," I finished. "Yeah, Shauna and I found that out when we went to speak to him about Froakie. We did contact him though with some sort of device."

"Oh, yeah," Robert said, swinging his backpack around, shuffling inside for a second, before pulling out the hologram device. "It's called a Holo Caster. It's used for news and talking to people. Juniper really pulled through when she had Sycamore hook me up with the latest tech. This version isn't even on the shelves yet."

As he adored over his gadget, I turned to Alex. "So your family still hasn't gotten better."

She gave me a small smile. "I guess. Listen, you don't have to worry about it."

I still didn't know her background, but I still felt a rush of emotion to protect her. "I swear, if I'm ever in Hoenn..."

I let that hang in the air and Alex brightened, laughing softly. "Thanks, Zeno."

I smiled and I could feel something between us. Near the end of our time in Alola, Alex and I definitely got closer, but I felt as if there was a sort of gap between us, kinda like the six months apart had become a tangible thing. But now, now I could feel us getting closer again. Maybe it wouldn't be the same as before, but it was a start."

In no time, we made it to the bridge leading out of Aquacorde.

I looked at Froakie. "Here we go. Time for our journey to truly begin."

"Froakie!" he cried, pumping a fist into the air.

"Hey," I said as we crossed the bridge. "What Pokemon do you two have with you?"

Robert held up a pokeball. "Just good ol' Snorlax. Me and him are here for the food and the Pokemon. And gadgets as well."

Alex tapped her belt where I saw several pokeballs. "Only Kantonian Ninetales. I got the rest of my Pokemon transferred over to Kukui with the help of Professor Birch."

"Huh," Robert rubbed his head. "I might do that with the Pokemon Juniper's holding onto for me."

I grinned. "Well, I came here with just one Pokemon as well, Arcanine."

I tickled Froakie. "But now I have you, don't I?"

Froakie made a bubbling noise and jumped on my head. "Froak!"

"By the way," Robert said, his hands behind his head. "Where exactly is our first destination? Lumiose again?"

I shook my head. "No, Santalune City. The first gym is located there."

"I'll let you challenge the gym leader first," Alex said slyly. "That way I can see their strength beforehand."

I snorted. "Not that'll matter. You have a high leveled Ninetales and no other Pokemon. I feel bad for the gym leader."

"Fine then," Alex pouted. "I'll go and catch myself a Pokemon in the forest up ahead. Will that make you happy?"

I shrugged as we neared Santalune Forest. "It'll make the gym leader happy that's for sure."

Alex rolled her eyes as we entered the cover of the trees, the temperature cooling. Light streamed in through the leaves and I saw that the path split into two, one leading right and the other left.

I pulled the Kalos map out from my backpack and looked at it. "Says we have to go right. Just follow the main path."

Alex leaned over my shoulder. "Huh. If we ignored the path we would have a straight shot to Santalune City."

"No," Robert said firmly. "The path is here for a reason. It's there to make sure the Pokemon and their habitat is maintained."

He set off down the path and Alex and I shared a look before I said, "Becoming a Professor's assistant really changed him."

She nodded. "It's not a bad change though."

We jogged after him until we were walking side-by-side. After several minutes, Alex's eyes widened and she darted off the main path and into the undergrowth.

Robert sighed in frustration. "Jeez, seriously. And after what I had just told you two."

"Hey," I said, patting him on the back. "When did you expect a girl to listen to you."

"Good point," he said as a we saw a flash of red light where Alex had just disappeared to. She came trudging back, a smile on her face.

"Well," she said contently. "I have a new Pokemon. A Fire type by the looks of it."

"You know," I said. "I'll feel really bad if the gym leader is a Grass type user."

Alex glared at me while Robert pulled out his Pokedex. "Can I see?"

"Nope," Alex said, latching her pokeball to her belt. "Not until my battle."

Robert looked downcast as he put his Pokedex away.

"Oh cheer up," Alex said, patting him on the back. "It won't be too far off until you can see him."

I smiled and Froakie made a noise and he pointed ahead of us. I followed his gaze and saw a little girl wearing a white dress, just standing in the middle of the path. A Drifloon floated down near her and wrapped its rope things around her arms. I blinked and they were gone.

"Huh?" I blinked several more times just to make sure, but they had just vanished. I looked at Froakie and he seemed equally confused.

"What?" Alex asked as I rushed forwards, looking around the area where the little girl had been. Froakie jumped off my shoulder into the bushes, but came back with nothing.

My two friends jogged back up to me, Robert looking around wildly. "What? Pokemon? Where?"

"No," I said, ruffling my hair in confusion. "I just... Never mind."

I knelt and let Froakie jump back onto my shoulder. Alex gave me a weird look, but didn't press the matter. She'll likely ask later, but I kinda hoped she would forget. Things like this are best left forgotten.

Later, the trees began thinning out ever so slightly and daylight could be seen up ahead.

"We're here," Alex said as we came out into the sunlight, Santalune City in the distance. It was a quaint looking place, not outrageously big like Lumiose, but it was pretty big. From the hill we were standing on I could see dozens of houses and several cafes. Kalos sure liked its cafes.

"Over there," Robert pointed to a building somewhere close to the middle of the city. It had a green roof and a lighter green colored walls. In the back I could see a huge glass building where I could see tall trees growing inside. A huge gym symbol was stuck into the side of the building, bringing a grin to my face.

"That's it," I said, looking at Froakie. "That's where the Kalos League begins."

"Froakie!"

**HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! INDEPENDENCE DAY! WOOHOO! Huh, those were the exact words I said exactly one year ago. That's when I uploaded Chapter 24 of HBoD, Invasion of the Dittos. Feels just like yesterday when I wrote that. Well, anyway, short chapter, but those tend to happen. I don't got much planned today, so I might work on my stories. Besides that... AMERICA! YEAH! TOODLES!**


	8. Chapter 7: Beginning the Kalos League

Walking into Santalune City felt different from the cities in Alola. There, they were generally smaller and felt more open. Here people bustled along in the streets, shopping or just getting from one place to the next. Pokemon of course accompanied most or just wandered around. Maybe it was just because Alola wasn't your typical region, but the feeling this city gave me felt somewhat nostalgic.

"Which way to the gym?" I wondered aloud and Robert pointed in a direction. "That way I think."

Alex shrugged. "Let's go with that."

We walked down the street, shops to our sides and then houses. We passed by at least three different cafes before reaching the gym. Standing before the green building now, I felt a rush of energy.

I grinned. "Let's see if the gym leader will allow us to battle now shall we."

"Froak!" Froakie cried, pumping his tiny fist into the air.

We walked inside and into a gallery. Pictures of Bug types hung on the walls, all were exquisite pictures.

"Huh," I said. "So not a Grass type gym."

"Nope," said a voice and I turned to see someone walking through a pair of wooden doors which I assumed led to the battlefield. The voice belonged to a smiling figure with a Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Ash," I said, grasping his hand and Froakie landed on the ground to run around with Pikachu. "How goes the journey?"

Ash grinned proudly and held up a badge. "Just won the Bug Badge! Second try sadly."

He nodded at Arcanine's pokeball. "I have a feeling her strongest Pokemon wont be any trouble for you though."

He grinned at my friends. "Great to see you two as well, Alex, Robert."

They smiled and shook his hand, then I noticed several people walk out to stand next to Ash. A blonde boy with glasses wearing a blue and yellow jumpsuit as well as a little girl with the same blonde hair. Then,

"Serena," I said, surprised to see her.

Her eyes widened a little before smiling at me. "Hey, Zeno. It's been a while."

She looked at Froakie playing and said, "I see you managed to keep Froakie."

"Yep," I said. "He and I, we'll beat the Kalos League together."

"Not if I beat it first," Ash said confidently, then looked at Serena. "You two know each other."

Serena nodded. "He helped me back in Vaniville Town."

I nodded. "Who's the rest of your friends?"

The blonde boy stepped forwards, straightening his glasses. "I'm Clemont. And this here is my little sister, Bonnie."

"Hi," Bonnie squeaked happily.

Alex and Robert introduced themselves and soon after that, another person made an appearance. This time it was a blonde woman wearing a white tank top along with green cargo shorts. She wore a camera on her neck and smiled when she saw all of us.

"New challengers?" She asked, looking at Alex, Robert, and I.

"Just them," Robert pointed at Alex and I. "I'm here for observation."

"I'd love to stick around and watch," Ash said. "But we gotta get going."

He straightened his hat, Pikachu climbing onto his shoulder. "Next time we meet Zeno, let's have a rematch."

I grinned, Froakie now on my shoulder. "You're on Ketchum."

We bid our farewells to the four of them before we turned back to the woman. "Are you ready for challengers?"

She smiled. "Always. Come on inside."

She led us into the huge glass conservatory where tall trees rose up near the glass roof and shrubs lined the sides. In the middle was a dirt battlefield, white lines outlining it. A referee noticed us and went to stand in her position on the side of the battlefield.

Viola turned to face us. "Who's first."

I stepped forward. "Me."

She nodded. "Take your position challenger. Let's see what you can do."

I took my spot at the end of the battlefield while Alex and Robert sat in the grass ten feet from it. I took a deep breath and shared a glance with Froakie. I wasn't counting the gym in Alola, so this was both Froakie's and mine first gym battle.

"Let's do our best," I said, flashing a grin.

Froakie pumped a fist. "Froakie!"

The referee wore green clothes with her hair up in a bun. She raised her hand. "The gym battle between Zeno the challenger and Viola the Santalune Gym Leader will now begin! Each side will have the use of two Pokemon and the battle will be over when either trainer's Pokemon are unable to continue! Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon!"

Viola grinned and held up a pokeball. "Those determined expressions... The glint that's reflected in both of your eyes that says you're up for the challenge... It's fantastic! Just fantastic! I can tell this isn't your first time battling a major opponent. So, come at me! My lens is always focused on victory, no matter what!"

"Surskit, go!" She shouted and flung her ball, the Bug and Water type materializing on the battlefield in front of her.

I flung out my hand and Froakie ran across it before jumping onto the battlefield. "Alright then Froakie! Let's start with Pound!"

Froakie hopped forwards and went to smack Surskit, but the Bug type just slid away.

"You're going to have to be faster than that if you want to beat us," Viola yelled. "Use Bubble Beam!"

Surskit slid around Froakie, firing bubbles at him. Froakie held up his hands as a defense, but he was still knocked back a step.

"Don't give up!" I shouted encouragingly. "Use Quick Attack!"

Froakie bounded forwards and managed to slam into Surskit.

"Surskit!" Viola cried, then yelled, "Use Quick Attack as well!"

"Surskit!" cried the Bug type and she slammed into Froakie.

"Use Pound to knock her away!" I shouted.

Froakie jumped to avoid Surskit and shot out a foot, knocking the Bug type away.

"Get him with Sticky Web!" Viola yelled.

Surskit shot bullets of web rapid fire, two of them hitting Froakie, trapping his feet.

"Froakie!" he cried, trying to move.

"Don't worry Froakie," I yelled. "Try and use Quick Attack to move!"

Froakie's face strained as he glowed and he tried to move as fast as he could, but the web didn't budge.

"Use Quick Attack!" Viola called and Surskit zoomed towards Froakie. The combined usage of Quick Attack managed to knock Froakie out of the web and he tumbled backwards. However, Viola wasn't going to let him get away that easily.

"Catch him again with Sticky Web!" She shouted.

"Dodge!" I shouted.

Froakie stepped to the side to avoid one, then rolled beneath two more, slamming a glowing fist into Surskit.

My eyes widened. Those moves. That wasn't how a regular Pokemon would normally dodge then strike. And they seemed familiar. My thoughts flashed back to earlier this morning when Froakie had been watching me practice fighting with a knife. He had also been imitating me.

Even Viola looked amazed for a second before getting serious. "Surskit, Bubble Beam!"

"Dodge and use Pound again!" I shouted.

Froakie leaped to one side, then over the stream of bubbles, before running low to the ground and driving his fist into Surskit. The Bug type flew back and slammed into the dirt.

"Yeah!" I cheered, but the battle wasn't over yet. Surskit zoomed to her feet, sliding away from Froakie.

"We can still win!" Viola shouted. "Use Sticky Web!"

"Go for it!" I shouted.

Froakie rolled to avoid a web before leaping forwards. Surskit aimed and shot a Sticky Web right at his face. Before I could even utter a sound, Froakie's arm swung upwards, something forming in his hand. He sliced the air and the web was left in pieces. He then landed on the ground, rolled to his feet, slicing another Sticky Web with the glowing blade, before rolling. He came up kneeling, his blade jabbed against Surskit. She gave a cry before her legs gave out and she fainted.

_"That rolling and jabbing motion,"_ I thought. _"I had done the same thing earlier. He's really taken a shine to me."_

"Surskit is unable to battle!" the ref called. "Gym Leader Olivia, please send out your next Pokemon!"

Olivia returned her Pokemon, smiling at me and Froakie. "You two are quite the pair. You have quite the unique way of battling."

"But," she held out another pokeball. "We will still win because this Gym Leaders will always find the perfect shot! Come on out, Vivillon!"

I heard Robert boot up his Pokedex. _"The patterns on this Pokémon's wings depend on the climate and topography of its habitat. It scatters colorful scales."_

The robotic voice reminded me of Rotom, which made me wonder what happened to him. Shaking my head, I got my brain back in the battle.

"Vivillon," Viola yelled. "Use Gust!"

"Vivillon!" The Bug and Flying type cried, flapping her wings. A gust of wind struck against Froakie and he struggled to keep his balance and stay in one place. Then I noticed Viola's endgame. She aimed to catch Froakie in one of the Sticky Webs behind him.

_"Not today,"_ I thought, then aloud, "Fall back and use Cut!"

Froakie seemed to understand because he stopped resisting and let himself be blown backwards. He twisted and sliced through the globs of Sticky Webs on the ground. Skidding to a halt on his feet, Froakie crouched.

"Now use Quick Attack!" I shouted.

Froakie bounded forwards, before leaping at Vivillon.

"Vivillon!" Viola cried. "Sleep Powder!"

Vivillon flapped her wings, scattering the green powder. Froakie was coated with the substance and was asleep before he even crashed to the ground.

I held out my pokeball before Viola could utter a word. "Return!"

Once he was in his pokeball, I whispered, "Don't worry. We didn't lose. Not yet."

Tucking the ball away, I knew losing was good experience and Froakie would need it, but being asleep while it happened didn't do much to help.

"Sorry about this," I apologized to Viola, grabbing Arcanine's pokeball. "But this battle is about to end."

"Oh," Viola raised an eyebrow. "Show me what you got."

"As you wish," I said, then tossed the ball. "Come on out, Arcanine!"

Upon entering the battlefield, Arcanine roared, then glared at Vivillon, flames curling from his mouth. Viola's eyes widened and Vivillon fluttered backwards as Arcanine set his gaze on the Bug type.

"Alright then," I shouted, shooting out my hand. "Let's finish this, for Froakie! Heat Wave!"

Arcanine roared, heat rolling off his body in waves. Viola shouted for Vivillon to use Protect and a green energy shield erupted around the Bug type. The heat surged forwards, blasting against the Protect with so much intensity, I thought the Protect might actually break. When the Protect finally ended, Vivillon was forced backwards and her wings seemed slightly singed.

"Get her!" I shouted. "Flame Wheel!"

Arcanine rolled into a fiery wheel and zoomed for Vivillon who had floated closer to the ground due to her injured wings.

"Sleep Powder!" Viola shouted.

"Burn right through it!" I yelled.

Arcanine zoomed straight through Sticky Webs, burning them up, and blazed through the green powder. He slammed into Vivillon, sending her flying backwards behind her trainer. Viola looked shell-shocked as the ref raised her hand.

"Vivillon is unable to battle! That means the challenger Zeno is the winner!"

Alex and Robert cheered, though neither looked hardly surprised. Arcanine huffed happily and nuzzled me in the chest. I laughed. "Good boy!"

He went and stood beside me as Viola walked up, clutching the Bug Badge in her hand. "Undoubtedly you have proved to be one of the strongest trainers I have ever met. You more than deserve this badge."

I took it from her open palm and smiled. "Thanks. That was a fantastic battle."

Viola laughed. "Who are you anyway?"

I kept my smiled and answered with the only possible one. "Just a trainer from Alola."

...

I lounged in the PMC chair as we waited for Froakie and Alex's Litleo to heal. Her battle had gone smoothly. Probably because she used two Fire types. I gotta feel bad for Viola. Robert lay face-down on the couch next to my chair while Alex was toying with her hair.

"Hey," I said. "I noticed them before, but are those highlights?"

Alex nodded. "I got them about a month after getting back to Hoenn."

She blushed. "It's sort of a rebellious streak against my family."

I smiled, jotting down in my head to ask her about her family later. "I like them. They suit you."

Alex smiled happily as Robert spoke, his voice muffled by the couch. "Where are we heading next?"

Checking my Town Map just to make sure, I said, "Back to Lumiose. I told the Professor I would speak to him about Froakie."

Robert lifted his head slightly. "Actually, I need to speak to him as well."

"Good thing we're going then," Alex said. "Is there a gym there?"

I nodded, but Robert spoke again. "Don't bother."

I looked at him. "Why not?"

He sat up. "I checked my Holo Caster earlier and it said the gym leader was on leave at the moment. His substitute won't allow challengers to enter without at least five badges as well."

Alex looked shocked. "Five!? Do you know how long that'll take."

I got up and stretched, seeing that Chansey was carting out our two Pokemon. "Don't worry about it Alex. It just makes it more fun. I'll also make sure to ask Professor Sycamore what route would be the best for us when we meet him."

Making my way over to Froakie and Litleo, I said, "Now come on. We have a Professor to meet."

**The first true gym battle for Zeno. We're not counting that one back in Alola. Now I just gotta do this seven more times then the league begins. Who am I kidding? That sounds so short, but it ain't. There's going to be a ton of stuff in between all of that. Whoo! Man, I got a lot I want to write. Well, till the next update. Toodles**


	9. Chapter 8: A Miscreant Among the Flowers

The morning after the gym battle, I was sipping tea in an open air cafe. Robert was talking to Professor Juniper in the PMC while Alex was studying the map of the Kalos region. Arcanine and Ninetales were rough housing just fifty feet from us on the edge of the town.

"You know," Alex said, tossing a piece of bread to Litleo, who eagerly snapped it up. "I don't think we need to ask the Professor, assuming there are gyms along this route."

She laid down the map on the table and I watched her trace a route from Santalune to Lumiose to Camphrier Town. "From here we can continue on to Cyllage City then to either Ambrette Town or Geosenge. If we go to Geosenge, then we'll end up back at Lumiose City."

I nodded. "What if we went to Ambrette Town then to Geosenge. Looks like fun. Right Froakie?"

Froakie hopped onto the table and gave me a thumbs up. "Froak!"

Alex shrugged and folded up the map. "If you say so. Though a longer journey sounds like fun."

"At least we aren't island hopping anymore," Robert remarked as he came towards us. "That's something, right?"

I nodded. "I guess, but Alola's Island Hopping did have its merits."

"I'll give you that," Robert said. "Don't get me wrong here. I enjoyed Alola, but I feel like there's just something special about one big region that's all connected by land and not ocean."

"Speaking of which," Alex stretched. "Shouldn't we be going around this big region connected by land?"

I chuckled and stood, patting my knife's sheath to make sure it was still there. "Yeah, let's get going. Kukui still wants to check on Froakie."

Froakie jumped on my shoulder and I whistled. Arcanine perked up and bounded over, Ninetales in hot pursuit.

I rubbed Arcanine's head. "I'll leave you out for a bit so you can smell the flowers."

He barked happily and together with my friends, we headed out of Santalune City. Immediately the smell of flowers hit us, different aromas all blending together quite nicely. The view was just as magnificent. All the different colors had been arranged in such a way it looked both like a stunning work of art as well as perfectly natural. Green hedges were neatly trimmed and were being maintained by both gardeners and Crawdaunts.

Robert held his arms out wide and breathed in deeply. "This is one of the many joys of travelling. So many different sights and smells to experience, it's just wonderful."

Arcanine bounded ahead, sniffing the flowers, then promptly sneezing. I laughed aloud and Arcanine growled in my direction.

I held up my hands. "Sorry sorry. Won't do it again."

Alex chuckled beside me and we watched her Ninetales scare away a bunch of Flabebes and Floettes from a cluster of flowers.

"Ooh," Alex said, putting her hands together. "They look pretty."

Robert pulled out his pokedex and scanned them.

_Flabebe, the Single Bloom Pokemon. It draws out and controls the hidden power of flowers. The flower Flabebe holds is most likely part of its body._

_Floette, the Single Bloom Pokemon and the evolved form of Flabebe. It flutters around fields of flowers and cares for flowers that are starting to wilt. It draws out the hidden power of flowers to battle._

Alex nodded. "I want one."

I smiled. "Sounds a bit possessive don't you think?"

Alex shot me a look. "Friends first, battle partner later. Don't worry, I got it down."

She ran into the field of flowers, scattering Flabebes left and right. She disappeared around a hedge and I chuckled.

"Come on," I said to Robert, pointing ahead. "Let's continue."

We walked on, Arcanine and Ninetales a little farther ahead of us. Froakie seemed to be relaxing on my shoulder and I grinned at that. It seemed like his loss against Viola didn't affect him at all.

Suddenly, Ninetales perked up. She stared down the path to where a huge fountain was not too far off. Then she bolted for it and I quickly ran up to where she had left Arcanine. Then I heard the yelling. Among the several raised voices, I heard Alex's.

I swung myself onto Arcanine's back, almost dislodging Froakie, and held out my hand to Robert. "Get on."

I helped him up and Arcanine burst down the path and we reached the fountain at the same time as Ninetales. Assessing the situation, I saw Alex face-to-face with another girl with Alex protectively standing in front of a Flabebe and Combee.

I groaned. "Not her."

I slid off Arcanine's back and yelled, "Clara!"

The two girls backed away from each other and Clara glared at me. "So we meet again."

I looked at the cowering Flabebe and Combee, then back at Clara. "What is it this time? Beating up Pokemon for your own pleasure."

Clara clenched a fist. " These Pokemon got in my way, so I'm punishing them."

"What gives you the right to abuse Pokemon!?" Alex shouted at her.

Clara whipped out her pokeball. "You wanna fight bitch!? Come and have some."

She sent out her Barbaracle and it loomed over Alex. Ninetales rushed to Alex's side, flames at her mouth. Alex took half a dozen steps backwards as Robert herded the Flabebe and Combee away.

"Use Flamethrower!" Alex yelled.

"Razor Shell!" Clara shouted and Barbaracle slashed the flames into steam. "Now use Cross Chop!"

Barbaracle crossed his arms and shot forwards, slamming into Ninetales.

"Extrasensory," Alex said.

Ninetales' eyes glowed pink and a psychic attack sent the Water type skidding on its back.

I was content to just sit back and wait for Alex to beat Clara. I wasn't too worried, despite the type disadvantage. But something was off. I let my eyes wander around the cobblestone area, past the fountain, and into the flowers lining the perimeter. I lingered on one spot until I was sure I was correct.

"Arcanine," I said. "Extreme Speed."

Arcanine saw where I was staring and narrowed his eyes. He zoomed into the flowers, but as he entered them, something flew out. Clara's Scizor. He narrowed his eyes at the Flabebe and Combee and dived for them.

"Robert!" I called out to him, but he was already prepared.

Robert sent out his huge Snorlax, which Scizor just bounced off of. Shaking his metal head, Scizor repeatedly punched Snorlax in the stomach, irritating the big guy.

"Snorlax," Robert said. "Body Slam."

Snorlax jumped and landed on top of Scizor, pinning the Bug type. Scizor then used Protect to form an energy shield around himself, dislodging Snorlax. He flew out from beneath him and skidded on the cobblestone.

"Arcanine," I said. "Just like last time. Flame Wheel."

Arcanine rolled into a wheel of fire and zoomed for the Steel type. Scizor slammed its metal fists together, creating a fierce wind that blew away Arcanine's fire. However, Arcanine still slammed into Scizor, but the Steel type flew into the air.

"Flamethrower!" I yelled and Arcanine blasted jets of flames at Scizor, who successfully dodged them, landing twenty feet away. He made to fly up again, but found that his feet were stuck to the ground by white bubbles.

I looked at my shoulder to discover Froakie was gone. Then I spotted him feet from Scizor, tossing more clumps of bubbles, trapping Scizor on the ground. The Bug type furiously tried to get near Froakie, but was unable to.

"Good job Froakie," I cheered. "Now Arcanine, finish him. Flame Wheel!"

Arcanine barked and rolled into Scizor, flames bursting out from him. The bubbles evaporated, but Scizor wasn't going anywhere, his red metal skin burnt. At the same time, I heard a cheer from Alex and saw Barbaracle stumbled backwards as Ninetales drove him off.

Clara eyed her Scizor and scowled. "Get over here bug!"

Scizor limped away from my glaring Arcanine and went to stand by Clara's side, where she returned him to his pokeball. She then returned her Barbaracle and glared at both Alex and I as I came to stand next to my friend.

"You win this time," she growled. "I swear to you, next time I will crush you."

She was looking at me when she said that, obviously still holding a grudge from last time.

She turned to walk away and I let her go a few feet before I said, "My name's Zeno."

She didn't stop, but raised her finger at me before disappearing into the hedges.

Alex looked at me. "You know her?"

I sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. I'll tell you and Robert about it soon. First, let's see how those two Pokemon are doing."

We headed back to where Robert and his Snorlax were, Robert talking quietly to the Flabebe and Combee.

He looked up when he saw us and gave a relieved smile. "Good, you two are here. Alex, can you calm them while I get my medicine supplies out."

She nodded and knelt by the two Pokemon, talking encouraging words to them as Robert took off his backpack. He rummaged through it until he took out a Super Potion and began applying it to the Flabebe, who looked more hurt than the Combee. She was laying on her flower, bruised up and almost broken off. Robert then moved on to the Combee where one of her wings appeared to be bent slightly.

After he was done, Robert got to his feet and dusted his legs off. "I healed them as best as I can, but it's best if we head to a Pokemon Center right away to get them proper treatment."

Alex nodded and made to stand, but both the Flabebe and Combee cried out. Alex stayed where she was and they calmed down.

I smiled. "I think they like you."

Alex smiled as she rubbed both Pokemon gently. "You think so?"

Robert pondered for a second, before suggesting, "Alex, I think you should carry them in two pokeballs. It'll make sure they don't feel the pain and it'll be easier to transport them."

"Me?" Alex asked, pointing to herself and Robert nodded. "They seem to like you best."

Alex looked back down at them. "How about it? Would you two mind being put in pokeballs so we can get you medical treatment?"

They looked like they were thinking about it, then ten seconds later, Combee buzzed her wings as a yes.

Alex smiled. "Good."

Her hands went to her waist, then frowned. "I don't have any pokeballs."

"Don't you worry," Robert said, tossing her two. "Uncle Rob has you covered."

Alex held out both pokeballs in each hand and lightly tapped Combee and Flabebe. They were sucked in by a red light and shook in Alex's palms. Then the lights flashed green, signalling their desire to stay.

Alex stood. "Let's get going. How long until Lumiose?"

I checked my map. "Route 4 isn't that long, I'd say another twenty, thirty minutes maybe."

"Let's pick up the pace then a little," she said, then to her Ninetales, "Good job battling girl. Get a nice long rest."

She returned her and I did the same to Arcanine, Froakie hopping onto my shoulder. "Good job out there partner. I didn't know you could use your bubbles like that."

"Froak," Froakie croaked in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head.

I cracked a grin and Alex said, "Come on, let's get going."

I nodded and the three of us set off past the fountain and back on the path to Lumiose.

"So," Alex said after a minute of fast walking. "How do you know Clara?"

"After Shauna and I got the okay for me to keep Froakie," I said. "We went to get lunch. After, I saw her battling a kid. She beat him then demanded his Pokemon as a prize for winning. I stepped in to stop her and so did Ash."

"Ah," Robert said, enlightened. "So that's how you met Ash."

I nodded. "Clara is quite the character."

A dark look came over Alex. "Treating Pokemon like that, trying to take them, she's the worst kind of person."

"I'll say," Robert agreed. "Next time we run into her, you'll show her a lesson Zeno."

I coughed. "Say what now? Why me?"

"You're her rival," Robert said it like it was obvious. "At least, that's how she sees you."

I looked at Alex for support, but she was nodding in agreement. "I'm pretty sure she took this loss as your victory, which makes it twice that she's been beaten by you."

"Ugh," I said. "I don't need someone like her as my rival. Plus, they're probably won't even be a next time. Kalos is a big region after all."

"You probably thought that the first time," Robert said. "She's bound to be a regular now."

"Yeah," I said enthusiastically. "I don't need that."

But, despite what I was saying, I had a feeling I would see Clara again, whether I wanted to or not. I frowned. Would she challenge me to a battle? If so, if I win, what happens? Would she just keep coming back? Why?

I sighed. _"All these questions are just going to give me a migraine."_

Setting my gaze on the path ahead of us, I pushed Clara into the back of my head and continued on with my friends.

**Clara again folks. Might she become a regular like Robert predicts? Only I know, so just wait and see dear readers. Till next time. Toodles**


	10. Chapter 9: Meeting the Professor

"Thanks a lot Nurse Joy," Alex thanked the pink haired nurse and made her way over to us, clutching two pokeballs.

"Well?" I asked, petting Froakie's head.

"They'll make a full recovery," she said. "It'll be a couple hours however."

"Time to kill," Robert stood from his chair and stretched. "What should we do?"

I shrugged. "We need to meet with the Professor still, then ask him where the closest gym is."

Alex nodded. "First though, I'm famished. I need some Kalos cuisine."

"There's a cafe down on Vernal Avenue," I said. "But I'm sure there are places closer to here."

"You two go on ahead," Robert nodded towards the store in the back of the Pokemon Center. "I'm going to stock up on supplies then try to contact Professor Juniper, tell her how things are going."

He waved us goodbye and went to speak to the guy at the counter.

I turned to Alex, Froakie jumping onto my shoulder. "Well, shall we?"

She smiled. "Why not."

...

We ended up going to a cafe next to the PMC so Robert could find us easily. We sat at a round table, an umbrella blocking the sun. As we waited for our food, I decided to ask Alex something.

"So," I said. "Despite getting away from your family, how were you these last six months."

Alex shrugged, leaning back against her chair, gazing sideways. "Well, fine, I guess. When I first got back home, things were mostly fine. My parents weren't as bad as they used to be. They still drink a lot, but it was more contained. But..."

She trailed off, lost in thought.

"But?" I prompted.

She flicked her gaze back to me. "My brother was the one I didn't see often. He and I were more close when we were younger, having each other's back. But, I guess he hated me for leaving him and going to Alola. Now, I'm afraid I've just made it worse when I came here."

"Why did you leave him?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound accusing.

"I-," she said. "I thought he'd be better off without me. I was always the one to get in trouble with our parents, so without me, I hoped he would be fine."

She sighed. "Turns out, he only became more like them and more distant. He's more of the reason I left this time, my parents on top of that."

I reached my hand over the table and grasped hers. "It's okay Alex. Sometimes, sometimes our families are unstable. But, maybe one day, that can still change."

She looked at me. "Are you still hoping for that?"

I shrugged. "I'm not going to go looking for it anytime soon. If he reaches out to me, maybe."

Alex smiled. "Maybe I'll do the same as well."

Three plates of sandwiches were delivered and we began to eat in silence. Froakie was given a bowl of pokefood and he jumped on the ground to eat it. Soon enough, Robert joined us and practically wolfed down his sandwich. He patted his stomach afterwords. "Ahh, delicious. Compliments to the chef."

Froakie finished up as well and leaped onto the table. I tickled his chin and said, "How 'bout we go see the Professor now?"

"Sounds like a plan," Alex said, standing up. "How about I pay for the meal."

"No no," I said. "I can-"

I started rummaging through my pockets and groaned. "Umm, never mind. I think I didn't take any when I left home."

Alex smirked and held up a wad of pokedollars. "Lucky for you, I swiped some of my parent's alcohol money before I left. I still have enough left to get us through a couple cities. After that I guess we could find small jobs to get money..."

"Nah," Robert said, holding up a credit card. "I got us covered. Well, at least Professor Juniper does. She made the necessary transactions to fund my Kalos trip."

"Remind me to thank Professor Juniper myself," I said, getting up.

"It's a deal," Robert smiled, then pumped a fist. "Now follow me. I know where the lab is."

"Uh, Robert," I said, pointing to the lab diagonally across the street to our left. "It's right there."

"Oh," he said, then began to hurriedly cross the street. "You guys coming or what?"

Stifling our laughs, Alex and I ran after him. We crossed the cobblestone street, mostly filled with pedestrians and one taxi cab farther down the road. Slowing to a walk next to Robert, I took in the sight that was Lumiose. I hadn't really inspected it when I was here last, but the buildings sure were tall. Some might even be bigger than Saffron City's tallest buildings. Signs were stuck on the sidewalks, showing which way some things were. Of course there were many cafes listed, but there was also the PR Video Studio, Stone Emporium, Ditto Corporation, Pokemon Catching Study, and, of course, Professor Sycamore's Pokemon Lab.

We went through the open gate and went up the walkway to the main doors. We pushed them open and stepped into the slightly cool entrance hall. The blue carpet squished slightly under our feet and scientists were still bustling around. One was carting a large container labeled, "Shipped from the Galar Region. Handle with Care."

"Galar," I said. "Now there's a region you don't hear much about these days."

"Indeed," said a pleasant voice that matched the dark haired man walking towards us. In the same getup as last time when I spoke to him via Holo Caster, was none other than Professor Sycamore. He held out his arms in an open greeting. "_Bonjour_ Zeno and Froakie."

Froakie squealed with delight and hopped onto the Professor's shoulders, making the man laughed as he rubbed Froakie's head. "I see you're doing well Froakie. He must be quite the trainer to be able to bring out this side of you."

"Froak," Froakie cried.

Professor Sycamore held out his hand as Froakie jumped back onto my shoulder. "It's a pleasure to acquaint with you in person Zeno. I am Professor Sycamore."

"Great to see you too Professor," I said, shaking his hand. Calling him Professor was a bit weird for me, since I could only really picture Kukui's face when I said Professor.

Sycamore shook hands with Alex next, then Robert, who said, "Nice to meet you Professor Sycamore. I'm Professor Juniper's newest assistant from Unova, sent here to study the Kalos Pokemon in person."

Sycamore's eyes widened. "Ah, that's right. I was wondering where you were. Though I suppose I did miss your scheduled arrival. Oh well, better late than never. Did you get the supplies?"

Robert nodded. "The Holo Caster is pretty neat."

"Indeed it is," Sycamore laughed. "My friend was actually the one who developed it. Maybe you three will meet him one day. Anyway, my best regards to Juniper. Lovely lady she is."

He tapped his chin, then held up a finger, apparently remembering something. "Ah, yes. Galar. There's a reason they don't feature in the main spotlight."

"Why's that?" Alex asked, reflecting my own curiosity.

"As you might know," Sycamore said, leading us towards the left of the stairs. "Galar is a region just North from Kalos. Really more of an island, Galar likes to stay independent and out of global connection, except for a few regions. But it's rare we can get anything imported or exported with them. Kalos and Galar have a bloody history."

"But," Sycamore said, his smile brightening. "Now isn't the time for history."

He led us through glass doors behind the stairs and into a room as big as Viola's gym, maybe much bigger, with all the flora to boot. I saw a couple of Kalos starter Pokemon roaming around, a Scatterbug clinging to a tree, and three Vivillons flying past us. While Robert was bust recording them in his pokedex, Sycamore led us to one side of the large Conservatory where a Garchomp was resting in the shade of a small sycamore of all things. And beside the Dragon type was none other than Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor.

I raised my hand in greeting. "Hey you three. It sure hasn't been long."

Tierno grinned widely and did a little dance. "Hey Z!"

"Z?" I said, confused.

"It's his nickname for you." Trevor said, annoyed. "Ignore him."

Shauna smiled. "How did your gym battle go?"

"Smoothly," I said, showing the inside of my black over shirt where I had pinned the Bug Badge. "Froakie did amazing, didn't you?"

"Froakie!" Froakie croaked proudly, pumping a fist into the air.

Shauna laughed. "I knew you'd two would do well together."

Garchomp lifted his head at all the racket and snorted.

"Zeno, Alex, Robert," Sycamore said. "This is Garchomp."

Alex bent her knees to look into the Dragon type's eyes. "Is he the same one that went berserk on top of Lumiose Tower?"

Sycamore nodded. "Unfortunately yes. He's gotten much better though, thanks to Ash and his Pikachu."

I nodded. "We saw that on television."

"Do you have any idea what caused him to become like that?" Robert asked, stuffing his pokedex away.

Sycamore drew something out of his lab coat pocket. A shiny needle, the end of it crusted with faint purple. "This, whatever it is. As far as the Lab's been able to find out about it is that it causes Pokemon to go berserk. At least, that's as much as we know from what happened to Garchomp. We're not willing to try it on another Pokemon."

"Did you find out who did it?" I asked, kneeling next to Alex to rub Garchomp's head.

Sycamore shook his head. "That answer is no as well. We have no idea what this is even made of nor who made it."

I made up my mind right there. "We can do it."

"Do what?" Shauna asked, confused.

I looked straight at Sycamore as I stood. "We'll help search for whoever did this."

Froakie nodded confidently on my shoulder. "Froak froak."

"Yeah," Alex said, coming to stand next to me. "We'll help you."

"Why not?" Robert said. "I mean, we've dealt with worse things I'm sure."

Sycamore laughed. "I'm sure you have. I've heard a lot about you three from Kukui."

"You know Kukui?" I asked.

"Met him years back," Sycamore said, nodding. "He was still really just beginning, but his method of Pokemon research is unique to say the least."

"Anyway," Sycamore said as Alex, Robert, and I smiled, fondly remembering Kukui. "I wouldn't normally have kids like you help me with something like this, but I think you can handle this. Actually, I told Ash that as well."

"Makes sense," I nodded. "He's stronger than even I."

Sycamore held out his hands. "So I'm going to give you something, all three of you."

He handed us three small rectangular cards, with lines of information written on them. "These will help you get places fast and cheap, if not for free. They'll also help get you into places that would normally be off limits. They might come in handy."

He was about to say something, then appeared to change his mind. "I would explain Mega Evolution to you, but I'll leave that to the Guru since I'm about to be very busy."

He turned to walk away and waved goodbye. "Good luck on your journey. Feel free to contact me via Holo Caster if needed at any point."

"Will do," I called after him, then the three of us said our goodbyes to Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor.

As we walked back to the entrance hall, I asked, "So where to next?"

"Well we never did get the chance to ask him where we should go next," Alex said. "So I say we just pick a path and go with it."

"How about Route 5," Robert suggested. "I mean, it is just after Route 4."

I shrugged. "Alright."

As we entered the main entrance hall once more, we came across a huge man with flaming orange hair that looked like a Pyroar's mane. He was in black leather that shone with outlines of orange fitted into it along the seams. The neck rim was lined with white fur, real or fake I had no clue. He was talking to a scientist, before nodding and turning to walk out the main doors.

"Who is he?" Robert wondered.

"Whoever he is," I said, narrowing my eyes. "I have a bad feeling about him."

I couldn't put my finger on it quite exactly, but for some reason unknown to me, this man reminded me of my father, Giovanni.

**So if you haven't noticed by now, I'm publishing chapters for this after I publish chapters for TMR. So I'd say a couple days wait before the next chapter for this to arrive, depending on how long the next chapter for TMR comes out. I'm telling you, TMR is chock full of details and story. I might even go as far as saying it's better than HBoD, which is hard for me to say. Anyway, till next time. Toodles**


	11. Chapter 10: The Stray Riolu

Stepping back out onto South Boulevard, I arched my back and stretched. Froakie copied me atop my shoulder, making me laugh.

"So," Robert said to my left. "Route 5?"

Alex nodded, coming to stand on my right. "I think it's the only option. I would love to stay in Lumiose a bit more, but I guess we can do that when we come back around."

Then we noticed the crowd. They had gathered near the gateway to Route 5, blocking any point of leaving. The crowd was huddled around one woman moving along as she did. Her brown hair was made to look sort of like a stay in the back with short bangs that waved to the right. She wore all white from her shirt to her shorts, including a slim white trench. There were no other words to describe her than beautiful and stunning. She smiled as she waved to the crowd of onlookers and reporters as she made her way to a cafe. Going inside, the crowd stayed outside, pressed against the doors and windows.

"I wonder who she is?" I said and Alex nodded.

"She's absolutely gorgeous," she said wistfully.

"That dear trainers, is Diantha."

We turned around to the orange haired man there, smiling down at us. He stood a whole foot taller than I, but height never bothered me.

"Are you three perhaps some of the new trainers Sycamore has enlisted to help him?"

Resisting the urge to share a glance with my friends, I nodded, deciding it was the best option here. "Yeah, we are. I'm Zeno."

"Alex," my blonde haired friend said and my other blonde haired friend replied, "Robert."

The man grinned. "That is wonderful! Indeed. Zeno, Alex, Robert, I would love it if you three could come with me. I would like to introduce someone to you."

He walked off towards the crowd, and finally glancing at my friends, we decided we had no other option.

"I don't trust him," I muttered and Alex elbowed me in the ribs. "Ow."

"Lighten up a bit will you," she said as we followed behind the man, but not too closely. "He seems like a nice man."

"Yeah," Robert agreed. "What, already assuming he's a mass murderer?"

I grumbled to myself and the orange haired man was able to make the crowd part with a wave of his hands. Through scattered murmurs, I discovered this guy's name was Lysandre, who was the president of Lysandre Labs.

Robert's eyes widened. "Lysandre Labs. They're the company who manufactured the Holo Caster."

Lysandre held the cafe doors open for us and gestured for us to come inside. We walked in and were greeted by cool air. The cafe was empty aside for and elderly man behind the counter in the left corner and the woman from before sitting at a round table, swirling a straw in her glass cup to mix around the golden brown liquid and ice inside. Closer to her now, I could see that her eyes were a faded blue complete with purple eyeshadow. She also wore a necklace with some sort of pendant on it with a green orb gleaming from the middle.

She looked up when the bell above the door jingle when it closed shut. She smiled upon seeing us and Lysandre.

"Lysandre, it's good to see you again," she greeted, smiling like only a celebrity could, but unlike many fake ones I've seen on television, hers was genuine. "I see you brought some trainers."

"Yes," Lysandre agreed, motioning for us to sit down at the table. Robert and I sat to the left of Diantha while Alex sat to her right. Lysandre took the spot across from Diantha, folding his hands together. "These three are trainers enlisted by Sycamore to help with the problem."

Diantha nodded. "It's great to see such promising young trainers, but are they even qualified to help with the matter?"

Lysandre shrugged. "If Sycamore thinks they're up for the challenge, then I don't see a reason why we wouldn't trust his judgement."

"Excuse me," I said, joining the conversation. "Just so I know we're on the same page here, you are talking about the Garchomp incident, right?"

Diantha nodded. "He showed you the needle I take it?"

The three of us nodded and Lysandre sighed irritably. "I've had my best scientists try and analyze it, but so far we've come up with nothing. No clue on what it is or who made it."

Diantha nodded. "All of Kalos' police force is on high alert, but still, nothing. Which is why Sycamore thought it would be a good idea to enlist capable trainers to help look, since they're able to go anywhere at any given time. People like me and Lysandre are almost always busy with our work."

"Who are you two anyway?" Alex asked curiously.

Lysandre straightened a little. "I am president of Lysandre Labs, the number one company in all of Kalos."

"And I am a movie star," Diantha said with a small smile. "However, I also am the current Champion of Kalos."

My eyes widened a bit. "You are?"

She gave a small chuckle. "Yes. Maybe one day you'll end up challenging me."

Froakie pounded his chest with his hand and I smiled. "We'll try."

Suddenly, something in Lysandre's chest pocket beeped twice. He took out a Holo Caster and frowned at a message sprang up in hologram form.

"Interesting," He murmured. "It appears a disturbance of some sorts has been sighted near Geosenge Town."

Diantha leaned forwards, hands now folded, drink forgotten. "Is it related to our current matter?"

"In terms of utter randomness," Lysandre deepened his frown. "Maybe. It seems two of the stones on Route 10 were stolen. By whom, unknown. But it was recent, so I'll head over to check it out."

He stood and gave a short bow. "It was a pleasure to meet with you Diantha. I hope your beauty is never tainted by the world's ugliness."

He smiled at us three. "It was good to see you trainers as well."

He waved us farewell and left the building, the crowd outside parting for him and some reporters turning to him.

"Well," Diantha said, getting up. "I need to go as well. The crowd's getting impatient. I'll try and lead them away from this place for you three."

We smiled at that, then she said, "I can tell you three are strong trainers. That's why I'm not going to push the issue of you being too young. That's why I'll tell you this. We've been having disturbances recently in the coastal area of Kalos. Building's ransacked, scientific equipment stolen, and Pokemon disappearing as well. Now the stones on Route 10. Since there are a couple gyms along that route, I'll ask you to keep an eye out."

She took a napkin from the table, then a pen from a pocket. She scribbled something down and left it there. "I don't doubt you three are competent, but if the need arises, call me through the Holo Caster and I'll come as fast as I can."

"Diantha?" Alex asked and she looked at her. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you the champion?"

Diantha stared at her for a second, a bit surprised, before smiling again. "Ah, I see. It's because I'm a movie star that has you wondering isn't it?"

Alex nodded. "I was just, why both?"

"Well," Diantha tapped her chin. "I was chosen to be a actress. I went along with it and after a while, I decided I wanted to do something for myself, something to prove my worth. So I challenged myself to become a trainer, defeat the Pokemon League, then challenge the Elite 4."

She laughed lightly. "Honestly, I surprised myself when I won. I don't think I ever expected it."

Now I had a question. "What makes you want to be trainer and the Champion."

"I became a trainer solely so I could change who I was," Diantha replied. "Staying as one now, I do it because I enjoy being one alongside my partners. But staying as the champion, I do it to protect this region as its strongest trainer."

"Of course," she said, eyes glinting like that of a veteran trainer. "That's only until someone worthy of knocking me off my throne comes along of course."

She turned to leave, hand on the door, before turning her head. "I hope that answered both of your questions. Now, for future reference, may I know your names please?"

"Alex," she said first. "I look forward to hopefully battling you one day."

"Robert," he said, looking up from his Holo Caster.

"Zeno," I said. "I guess Froakie and I will be aiming to top you then as well."

Diantha chuckled. "Till then trainers."

She left and was once again swarmed by people. When they were all gone down the street, I asked, "You were awfully quiet Robert."

He spared a glance at the man behind the counter and said, "Let's get going shall we."

He hurried out of his seat, grabbing Diantha's Holo Caster number on the napkin and went to the door. Alex and I shared confused glanced before following him.

"Look," Robert said as we were halfway to the Route 5 Gate. "I only did this because I thought it would be funny to prove you wrong, but..."

"What?" I asked, coming to a sudden halt before we fully reached the gate.

He glanced around before holding out his Holo Caster. "Here, take a look at-"

Just then, something zoomed between us, snatching the Holo Caster out of Robert's outstretched hand. It, no, the Pokemon ran full tilt into the gate.

"A Riolu!" Alex remarked.

"Never mind that!" Robert yelled, running after the Pokemon. "We need to get that Holo Caster back!"

I heard desperation in his voice and I was beginning to wonder what was on that device. Disregarding that, I ran after them, Alex close behind. Bursting onto Route 5, I saw Robert running towards a roller skate park. The Riolu ran past people skating, knocking a few over in the process.

With a flash of light, Arcanine was running besides me and I yelled, "Stop that Riolu! No fire! Froakie, use your bubbles!"

Putting on a burst of speed, Arcanine sped forwards with Froakie on his back. Now out of the roller skate park, Riolu was running for the cover of some trees. Arcanine zoomed past him and got in front of him. The Riolu skidded to a halt and looked frantically where to go. Froakie threw some of his bubbles, but Riolu jumped backwards to dodge them, right into the wall known as Robert's Snorlax.

"Got you now," Robert wheezed as Riolu was now trapped between Snorlax and Arcanine. "Hand over the Holo Caster and no one has to get hurt little guy."

Riolu seemed to understand his situation just fine, then he appeared to smirk. He threw the device to the right and ran left. Froakie acted quickly and threw his bubbles, catching the device midair and sticking it to a tree. Robert immediately ran to check on it as I ran after the Fighting type.

As I ran past Arcanine, Froakie leaped onto my shoulder. The Riolu was fast even as we climbed a grassy hill, so I had to be smarter.

"Froakie," I said. "Quick Attack!"

Froakie leaped from my shoulder and hopped towards Riolu faster than he had before. I changed direction in an arc to cut off the fleeing Pokemon. I saw Froakie form a white blade, Cut, and throw it like a knife. I didn't teach him that, but the way he threw it, it reminded me of myself.

It struck the ground right in front of Riolu, tripping him. I turned and came to a halt in front of the Fighting type, who was rubbing his head with a paw.

I bent down on my knees. "Now where do you think you're going?"

Arcanine padded up beside me, flames licking around his maw. Riolu grinned sheepishly and sat up, not bothering to run.

"You're pretty fast," I said appreciatively. "Why'd you steal the Holo Caster?"

Riolu kicked his feet up and down as he continued to smile. "Riol!"

Even though I didn't understand his words, I had a feeling I understood his expression. "For fun? Do you commonly steal people's stuff for fun?"

"Riol!" He cried again, grinning, and I knew my finger was on the mark.

I sighed and sat down in front of him. "Listen, it's not good to steal, but I think you know that."

Riolu swayed his head from side-to-side contently, eyes closed, probably figuring I would leave soon.

An idea came to my head, so I said, "Because I don't think it wise to leave you to your own devices, how about you join me."

That wiped the smile off his face and his eyes widened. It wasn't out of fear or panic, but curiosity, a good sign.

"Together," I said, smiling at him. "We could put your speed and agility to good use. Instead of stealing, you can join me, Arcanine, and Froakie on our adventure through Kalos. Let me give you an experience much more thrilling than stealing."

Riolu regarded me and I stood. "Of course, I can't force you. I could actually, but I won't. But at least let me give you a taste. I propose a battle. You and Froakie."

Riolu stood up to about me knee as he looked up at me and tilted his head, as if asking a question. I nodded. "If you win, you stay here and I don't interfere. If I win, you join us and I'll show you what it's like to live."

By this time Robert and Alex had made their way over to us and were watching from the sidelines.

Riolu considered it for ten seconds, before nodding. I grinned. "Alright then. Froakie, you're up. Sit this one out will you Arcanine."

Arcanine glanced at Riolu and turned away. I guess he was saying that Riolu wasn't worth his time. Froakie and I put some distance between Riolu before I said, "Whenever you're ready Riolu."

Riolu slammed his fists together. "Riolu!" His fists glowed and he shot forwards, swinging them at blinding speeds.

"Dodge!" I shouted.

Froakie leaped over Riolu, but the Fighting type skidded along the earth, swiftly turning his body and jumping after the Water type. He swung his fist and struck Froakie in the back. He slammed into the ground, dirt and grass flying.

"Don't give up," I yelled. "Use Quick Attack!"

Froakie leaped to his feet and burst towards Riolu. The Fighting type put on a burst of speed as well, both Pokemon slamming into each other.

"Use Cut!" I shouted.

Froakie's hand glowed and a small white blade formed. He jabbed forwards, slicing it past Riolu's side. The Fighting type winced, but swung his open palms at Froakie.

"Roll," I said and Froakie rolled to dodge the attack. "Now slice and jab!"

Froakie sliced through the air, catching Riolu a couple times before jabbing it into his chest, the blow knocking the Fighting type backwards.

"Good job," I shouted encouragingly. "Now use Water Pulse!"

Froakie formed a sphere of water and shot it at Riolu. The Fighting type leaped to his feet and swung the palm of his hand, blasting the Water Pulse into droplets. He ran forwards, fists glowing.

"Use Bubble!" I yelled.

Froakie blew bubbles in Riolu's direction, each one bursting when he got near, but the Fighting type nimbly dodged each and every one. He jumped and came bearing down upon Froakie, swinging his fists. The quick strikes hit Froakie at super speeds, sending the Water type flying backwards. Froakie tried to get up after that, but collapsed, exhausted.

I laughed a little, sitting on the ground. "Woah. Who knew you were that strong."

Riolu flexed his arms proudly and turned to walk away.

"Are you sure?" I asked and he stopped. "I know I lost, but are you sure you want to go back to stealing? What's the point?"

Riolu didn't look at me, but he didn't continue to walk away either, so I continued. "I promise you, if you come with me, I can give you more battles like that, harder, tougher battles, that'll make your heart race. What do you say?"

Riolu turned his head to face me, then smirked. He nodded, once, but that was enough. I held up an empty pokeball and smiled. "Welcome to the team, Riolu."

He walked over and punched the pokeball lightly, getting sucked into it. The ball shook for a couple seconds, before flashing green. I smiled and let him out again.

"Riolu?" He asked, confused.

"Well you're not going to stay in there the whole time," I responded as Froakie leaped onto my shoulder. "Part of the adventure is seeing the new places you visit and experiencing everything firsthand."

Riolu nodded and I walked over to Alex and Robert. "So, is it intact."

Robert nodded. "Yep, thanks to you Froakie."

He rubbed the Water type's head and Froakie beamed happily.

"Here," Robert handed me the Holo Caster. "Read it."

I took it and read the hologram message. _"Squad 2 reporting. Two stones vital to our operation on Route 10 have been stolen. Currently tracking the culprits. Will report later."_

The message ended there and I frowned. "Where did you get this?"

"Well," Robert rubbed the back of his head. "You see, that's the issue at hand. I was messing around with my Holo Caster while Lysandre and Diantha were busy talking. You know how you suspected Lysandre of, well, something, so I decided it would be funny to scan his Holo Caster to show how wrong you were. But when he received the message-"

"You got it as well," I finished, staring down at the message again. How many times have I sent and received messages similar to this one back in my Team Rocket days?

"So there is something wrong with Lysandre?" Alex asked.

"Not just that," I said. "But I wouldn't doubt that he's part of some organization, the leader in fact."

"What can we do about it?" Robert asked.

I looked at both of them. "You two sure about this? We've dealt with this kind of thing before. It may not go exactly like last time."

Alex grinned. "As you said, we've done it before. And since he's most likely part of some organization, they have some sort of endgame, like Aether and Radiance did."

"Yeah," Robert agreed. "Besides, we're the only ones who know about this. Who else will believe us?"

I smirked. "Just checking. But the question now is, are they the ones behind the Garchomp incident?"

Alex and Robert pondered this for a couple seconds before Alex's eyes widened. "Not necessarily. Remember, they're not the ones who stole the stones."

"Then," I turned to face the horizon where an uncertain future lay. "Who else are we dealing with here?"

...

"Ma'am," a grunt saluted. "We've successfully retrieved the stones."

The woman in the white lab coat didn't bother to turn around. "Good. Prepare to move out. There's something I need in the Connecting Cave."

She placed her hand on the huge cylinder container, bubbles hiding most of the person's ruined body inside.

"Soon," she whispered. "Soon I will revive you, mother."

**This is the first chapter to exceed 3000 words. It's been a while since I was able to do that. Hopefully I can continue that. ****Also, I must give thanks to Raze Olympus for his open enjoyment of my story and kind words regarding the first comment on this story. I hope you continue to enjoy this story Raze and everything I have planned for it. Till next time. Toodles**

**May the 34 souls who died due to the Kyoto Animation Studio arson attack rest in peace and my condolences to the 36 injured and all of their families. May God watch over all of them**


	12. Chapter 11: The Mystery of Parfum Palace

"Use Bullet Punch!"

Riolu shot his fists forwards, punching Flabebe away.

"Vine Whip!"

Chespin's vines shot from the back of his head and lashed at Froakie.

"Use Cut to slice them apart," I yelled. "Riolu, Force Palm!"

"Flabebe!" Alex shouted. "Fairy Wind!"

Riolu was sent careening backwards as Froakie sliced apart Chespin's vines.

"Use Rollout!" Robert commanded.

"Switch!" I shouted. "Force Palm and Water Pulse!"

Riolu leaped over Froakie as the Water type charged up a sphere of water and the Fighting type slammed the palm of his hand into Chespin, knocking him away. Froakie let loose the Water Pulse and it crashed into Flabebe.

Alex and Robert sighed in defeat. "Alright, you win."

I grinned. "Hey now. Looks like it's your guys turn to buy supplies."

They scowled and Alex pointed a finger at me. "You do realize we're the only ones with money anyway, right?"

I shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past you two to find a job for me in this small town."

It was our second day in Camphrier Town and boy was it slow. So slow that we decided we would battle in the back of the Pokemon Center to see who would go to the small store for supplies. As luck would have it, I won.

Riolu and Froakie ran back to me, Riolu pounding his chest with one paw. "Riol!"

I grinned and rubbed his head. "Yeah, you did great out there."

Froakie leaped onto my shoulder and I laughed. "You did good too Froakie."

I waved my two friends goodbye while smiling cheekily and sat down on the hard dirt battlefield. I stretched my arms and felt the warmth of the sun on my face. Then I heard a screech and yelling.

I sighed. "Never a dull moment."

I stood and grinned. "At least this town will get a little less boring."

"Rio!" Riolu agreed and ran after me as I went around the Pokemon Center. There we found a fancy pink carriage being pulled by two Gogoats being assaulted by people in black clothing alongside several types of Pokemon, the stagecoach on the ground. I heard yelling inside the carriage, then the door on the side burst open, another person in black carrying a huge sack over their shoulder that was writhing and screaming.

"Oh boy," I said, standing straight. "Yo!"

Faces covered in black cloth and goggles turned towards me. I noticed a crowd had pulled up and I could see Robert and Alex trying to shove their way through.

"Look," I said. "I'm gonna have to ask you people to kindly put that bag down. Or else things might get out of hand."

One of them stepped forwards and said in a toneless voice, "Get out of the way kid. This isn't your business."

I smirked. "That's good. I excel at getting into other people's business. Riolu, Froakie. Let's bust some heads."

A couple of the people motioned with their hands and a Growlithe, Inkay, and Pancham stepped forwards.

"So you're just grunts," I remarked. "Good to know. Froakie, Water Pulse. Riolu, Bullet Punch."

Froakie leaped into the air, hurling a sphere of water towards Growlithe while Riolu pummeled both Inkay and Pancham in quick succession. I could see the one with the bag trying to get away, but I flicked Arcanine's pokeball into the air.

"Stop him," I said. "Froakie, pin 'em down with your bubbles for Riolu!"

Arcanine sped forwards, stopping in front of the black clothed man, fangs bared. With their Pokemon out of the picture and an Arcanine in their way, I had them cornered.

"Alright," I said. "Put the bag down and I'll let you guys leave. Fair trade?"

They all exchanged looks and took off, the bag getting dropped on the ground. I heard someone yell, more in fury than in pain from within. I walked over to it and cut the strings with the knife Jessie, James, and Meowth had given me. The bag fell open to reveal a girl in a dark pink dress with frills, her auburn hair done in large ringlets. She wore a tiara on her head and had a look of surprise on her face, face slightly red from being in the bag.

"You alright?" I asked her. She stared up at me, looking a little shocked. Then she appeared to regain her composure as she stood up to about my height, dusting herself off.

"Absolutely disgusting," she said furiously. "They think they can try and kidnap me!? Think again!"

She yelled after their retreating forms and I sighed. She looked like royalty. I wasn't one who liked to deal with royalty.

She huffed and turned back to me, a smile adorning her face. She took my hands in hers and beamed at me. "Thank you so much for rescuing me. May I know your name."

"Uh," I looked down at where her hands grasped mine and felt a little uncomfortable. "Zeno."

"A pleasure to meet you Zeno," she said, still beaming, eyes practically sparkling. "I am Princess Allie of Parfum Palace. How can I ever repay you?"

"Well, I, um," I said, taken aback a little. "You don't need to-"

"Oh, I know," she looked excited. "How about we get married!"

I heard a choking noise behind me as well as coughing to cover up a fit of laughter. I had no doubt they belonged to Alex and Robert. The crowd still gathered around began murmuring excitedly and I felt my face go red.

"Say what now!?" I basically yelled. I tried to pull away, but jeez, she had a strong grip.

"Now now," she said brightly. "I can have it all arranged tonight and tomorrow we can have our wedding."

"Uh," I was still in shock. "You're talking about this way too lightly."

"After that Clemont boy rejected me, I've been in a depressed mood," she pouted for a moment, before cheering up immediately, pulling me towards the carriage.

"Hey, wait!" I heard Alex yell, but Princess Allie had managed to pull me into the carriage. At once it began moving and I was force to sit opposite of Allie. I tried the handle and found it had locked.

"Now now Zeno dear," the princess tutted as we rolled out of Camphrier Town. "I promise you I'll make an exceptional wife."

"Yeah, that's not my concern here," I said drily. "You just abducted me."

"Oh don't be silly," she chuckled. "You're my groom now."

I rubbed my face. This was too much.

"Okay, look," I said. "I don't want to be rude here, but I don't want to marry you. I'm travelling with my friends at the moment and-"

"Oh don't worry about that dear," she took my hands again. "I promise you, you'll enjoy my company a lot more than when you're with your friends."

I sighed. I figured I would have to escape when we stopped. Come to think of it, where were we going?

"Hey," I said, trying to act casual. "Where are we heading?"

"Oh don't worry," she giggled into her hand. "It's not far. We're heading to Parfum Palace. There will be a big party tonight, but don't worry. I'll make sure father gets the wedding set up in time for us for tomorrow."

_"Wonderful," _I thought.

I tried to distract myself by watching the outside go by from the small square window. We appeared to be on a country road, a straight line of trees on both sides. Then, in the corner of a window, I could see us driving towards a huge luxurious palace with huge metal gates. I don't think I could escape easily if I was trapped on the inside.

"Look," I said. "What will your parents think when you suddenly bring me home announcing I'll be your husband? And you're not even old enough to get married."

"Oh silly Zeno," she batted her eyes at me. "Daddy will simply be thrilled when he hears about this."

We pulled beyond the gates and I heard them clang shut behind me, resigning me to my fate.

_"There still has to be a way to escape,"_ I thought. _"If not, Alex, Robert, you guys will need to save me."_

...

As soon as I was brought into the luxurious palace, Princess Allie clapped her hands. Instantly, a butler was there, his short black hair close to graying.

"Charles," Allie spoke in a regal tone. "I want my fiancee to be properly dressed for tonight's party."

"Yes Princess," he did a short bow. "Whatever you wish."

He grabbed me by the shoulder and steered me away, Princess Allie blowing a kiss as we left.

"Hey look," I said, trying to pull away, but his grip was strong, and I didn't want to hurt him. "I don't know what's going on here. Can I just leave?"

"I am sorry," he said gruffly. "Whatever Princess Allie commands I follow."

_"There goes that idea," _I sighed. If I had my Pokemon with me, they could've caused a distraction.

As we turned a corner, I saw a section of the hallway to my right roped off. Beyond it, the carpet was ripped and glass ornaments laying in pieces on the ground.

"What happened there?" I asked.

"Someone tried to break in last night," the butler answered.

I narrowed my eyes. Someone broke in last night. A couple people tried to kidnap Princess Allie today. I sensed something afoot, but before I could think about it further, I was dragged into a fancy bedroom, a king sized bed taking up half the room. Much like the rest of the palace I had seen, the carpet was a fine red color and everything gave off an unreal vibe.

The butler closed the door behind us and went over to two large doors. He pulled them open to reveal a huge walk-in closet. He rummaged through there for a few seconds before coming out with a tuxedo.

I grimaced. Not again. Some of this situation reminded me of my mission in that mansion way back when. I had a feeling I would end up in a ballroom by tonight's end.

The butler went to help me undress, but I knocked his hand away. "Look, if I have to do this, I'm going to do it myself."

...

I looked at myself in the large mirror, absolutely disgusted. My hair was slicked back and a faint cologne on my body. Not my idea.

"You are certainly a fine specimen," the butler, Charles, gave a short bow. "It'll be a pleasure to serve you and the Princess."

I groaned. This was going to be horrible.

Charles opened the door. "You may do whatever it is you wish until tonight. By eight'o'clock, you must be in the ballroom for the party."

I didn't nod, but he left. I waited until I was sure he was long gone, then poked my head out of the room. He was gone.

"Thank Arceus," I breathed a sigh in relief. "Time to find a way out of this place."

I walked left down the hallway, thinking that if there wasn't a way to escape in the front, the back of the palace might serve an excellent opportunity. I glanced out of the windows to my right and saw a huge garden with a hedge bush maze out there. If I couldn't escape, the least I could do was hide. Then I stopped. I thought I had saw something out there, a dark shadow hide behind the hedges.

I kept walking, glancing out of every window, my pace increasing. What had I saw? I heard a loud crash above me and a shriek. I looked up. It must've come from the floor above. I began running and spotted some stairs to my left. I ran up them and found myself on the second floor. I looked to my right and saw a maid on her knees, staring in shock at a broken window.

"What happened?" I asked, running up to her.

"I-it," she looked shaken. "It broke through the window."

I peered out the window, but saw nothing outside, not even in the maze of hedges. I looked down on the soft carpet and picked up a shard of glass. The window was broken from the outside. That meant, whatever had broken it, was now in the palace.

"Did you see where it went?" I asked, setting the shard down.

The maid shook her head. "I- I don't know."

I grimaced and looked around. It hadn't come down the stairs, so there were only to ways for it to go. Down the hall to my right the hallway turned right and continued out of sight. I looked down to my left and I could see the hallway run on for a bit, reaching a a section where I could see mirrors.

I checked the carpet and found the faintest of indents on it, leading to the right. It might've been the maid's, but it was the only clue I had at the moment.

"Stay here," I told her and started running. I turned the corner and stared at the carpet, trying to follow the faint footprints. Then,

CRASH!

I was knocked backwards, rubbing my head. "Ouch."

I looked up to see the butler from earlier there.

"Do you need something Prince Zeno," he asked.

"I- wait, prince!?"

He nodded. "The Princess wishes for you to have a noble title."

"I, uh," I didn't know what to say at first, but then I pulled myself together. "Okay, never mind that. We have a problem. Someone broke into the palace."

Charles' face hardened. "Where?"

I jerked a thumb behind me. "Back there. A window was broken and a maid saw something break into here. I thought they came down this way. They might be after the Princess."

"No," the butler said firmly. "They're after something else."

I raised an eyebrow. "What is it then?"

"We have recently recovered a sacred artifact related to the legends of Kalos," he explained. "We have it locked up and secured inside the palace, but a mysterious group has claimed interest in it and sent us a message saying they'll do anything to get it."

"A mysterious group?" I thought. "Why do things like this keep popping up? Are they all connected?"

"Is there anyway to find whoever broke in?" I asked.

The butler thought about it. "We could search the whole palace, but I'm not confident we would find them easily."

I started pacing. "If they're here for the artifact, they might be looking for it. Unless they're biding their time. But why? Why would-"

I looked at Charles. "Why is there a party tonight?"

"No reason," he said. "But one of the main attractions tonight will be the artifact."

"I knew it," I breathed. "They're going to show up at the party, guaranteed. That's when they'll strike."

I grinned. "I've made up my mind. Charles, seems like I'll be staying a bit longer."

He gave a short bow. "Very good sir. What do you need me to do?"

I didn't want to know why he was asking me for orders, so I rolled with it. "Keep preparing for tonight. I want guards posted around the palace if you have them. No one is allowed to be near this artifact."

I wondered if there was anything else, then snapped my fingers. "Oh, and I'll need two letters sent to Camphrier Town. I have a feeling I'm going to need backup."

**The plot thickens. What could this mysterious artifact be? And who could be after it? And will Zeno actually be married to Princess Allie? Find out next time. Toodles**


	13. Chapter 12: An Old Foe

I groaned, getting to my feet, but I had managed to snag the artifact back. My side ached and I felt a little trickle of blood run down my cheek. I glanced behind me, seeing that Arcanine had disappeared into the hedges along with the enemy Pokemon. Turning my gaze back to the black clad opponent, I twirled my knife, settling it in my hand, blade facing behind me.

"Tell me who you are," I commanded. "Why do you need the artifact?"

"Oh come on Zeno," the vaguely feminine robotic voice gave a light chuckle. "We've met before haven't we."

She unclasped the helmet and I took a step back, my eyes widening. "You!? But- there's no way-!?"

"Yes," she said, giving a smile. "Now, Zeno, I think it's time you gave that back to me."

I held the artifact away from her with my left hand, raising my knife with my right. "Not gonna happen. Not in a million years."

Her eyes narrowed. "Then you'll have to be removed from the equation all together."

She dashed forwards, knife swinging. I gave a yell and charged, my knife swishing through the air, and an explosion rang out through the night air.

...

Earlier.

"Ugh," I fingered my tight collar. "This is so not enjoyable."

Princess Allie clung to my arm. "Oh, but you're so handsome husband dear."

She chuckled and I felt a pang of irritation. "We're not married!"

"Oh, dear," she chuckled again. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to remedy that tomorrow."

I sighed. There was no reasoning with this woman. We were in the Ball Room, couples in fancy dresses and suits milling about. Tables had been set up with fancy foods and wines. Around the room, glass cases had been propped up, including what I had been told was the artifact. It was obviously the main attraction of tonight. It looked to be a broken bit of antlers, with a faded blue point coming off the side.

"Isn't it gorgeous," Princess Allie breathed, catching me staring at it. "I think it would look beautiful hanging above my bed."

"Isn't it a priceless artifact from the legends of Kalos?" I asked, already having given up trying to get her off my arm. "Wouldn't you rather preserve it in a museum or something?"

She giggled. "How silly. Whatever the Parfums buy, the Parfums keep."

"I think you meant to say want," I thought, but didn't voice that opinion out loud. Instead, I asked a question. "Those statues I've been seeing. What's their purpose?"

"Hmm?" Allie followed my gaze, which rested on the huge statue of Bisharp, on one end of the room. From what I had seen, there were scattered statues of Pawniards around the whole palace.

"Oh, those," she smiled. "300 years ago, there was a war between regions. However, most of the conflict was between us and Galar. Bisharp was one of the most famous generals in that war, leading an army of Pawniards into battle."

"I think I get it," I nodded slowly. "This place is kinda like a museum already."

I looked around. "So what are we supposed to be doing anyway? Everyone is just talking around and looking."

Allie smiled, which was almost chilling. "Well, I'd say if we started dancing, others might as well."

Before I could protest, she had me in dancing position, my arm around her waist. She led the way, taking the stage. I heard slow violin music start up somewhere. I could feel the gaze of everyone in the room settle on us and I figured I'd better take the lead now. With no other option then forwards, I slowly spun us in a circle, taking Allie with me. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. After a minute of having to endure this, others started dancing as well in time with the music.

I don't know what triggered it. Maybe it was the music, or maybe the dancing, or both, but a memory surfaced from the depths of my mind. Close to a year ago, I had danced with someone else. We just had a small victory and were celebrating. I don't remember what had caused us to start, but we were dancing around the living room of that cabin. Amber eyes staring at me. Willow.

My hands fell away from Princess Allie and I clutched the side of my head with my right hand. Maybe I had conquered my past back in Alola, but sometimes the memories were still painful to revisit. I didn't know what Allie was thinking as she stared at me, but she soon grabbed my hand.

"Come with me," she said with a smile.

With nobody watching us, she led me out of the ball room and upstairs. Down the long hall from earlier, she led me to the place where I had seen the mirrors. Opposite of those, there was a terrace, facing the huge hedge maze. I could see statues, the most prominent ones of the white and black dragons. Above all that, there was the starry night sky. The moon wasn't in sight, but the view was still breathtaking.

"Isn't it beautiful," Princess Allie sighed, going up to the railing. "I just love coming here at night to stargaze."

I nodded but didn't say anything. I came up to the railing and stared at the stars, but something was tugging at my brain. Something bothered me, but I couldn't identify what.

Suddenly, Allie sucked in a breath. "What!? Did the gardeners seriously mess us the hedges! I don't believe this!"

I followed her gaze to one of the hedges, where part of it had been trimmed off. No, or was it sliced? As the Princess started ranting, my mind raced forwards. It looked more like the top part of the hedge had been sliced off cleanly at an angle, more like a knife had done it. My eyes drifted to the still broken window. Could both had been done by the same culprit. But that wouldn't make sense. If they were trying to conceal their presence, they wouldn't have left such obvious clues as to why they were here.

I stumbled backwards, Princess Allie not even noticing I had done so. My eyes were wide now. They weren't trying to conceal their presence. They wanted people to know they were here. Then that would mean...

My gaze drifted back to the hallway. They wouldn't care about making a show of stealing the artifact. I took off at a run and I heard Allie call my name, but I ignored her, quickly finding my way to the stairs. On my way down, I heard screams and a loud crash. I burst my way into the ballroom to see guests either running for exits or on the ground, staring at the woman in all black, her head covered by a helmet. A Zoroark stood next to her, snarling at everyone. The woman went up to the case the artifact was being held in and broke it, reaching for the antler.

However, before she could reach it, a Riolu snatched it as he jumped by, skidding on the ground when he landed. I grinned. The cavalry had arrived. I saw Alex and Robert running forwards, Ninetales, Arcanine, Snorlax, Froakie, Litleo, and Chespin standing with them. Riolu ran back to them and they all faced the woman.

"Interesting," she said, tilting her head slightly. "I didn't expect to see you all here tonight."

She snapped her fingers and Zoroark got on all fours, snarling. I knew my entrance wouldn't help things much, so I stuck to the shadows. I had a feeling this woman was more powerful than she looked, so I needed to find a way to get the drop on her.

I saw Arcanine run forwards, only for the Zoroark to nimbly dodge to one side, raking her claws along his side. As soon as Arcanine regained his composure, Zoroark had transformed into Arcanine. Both snarled at each other and rammed into one another. Amidst the battle, I saw the woman in black disappear. I rushed forwards, sliding beneath the raging Arcanines as I heard Riolu yelp. I shot to my feet just as I saw Alex get pushed aside, a knife glinting in the air.

Dashing forwards, I whipped my knife out of my sleeve, catching the other one mid-strike. I pressed against it hard, but she had strength on her side as well.

"Zeno!?" I heard Alex's shocked voice, but I didn't have time to acknowledge her.

"Tell me who you are!" I pressed harder against her, trying to get the upper hand. She had the artifact close to her heart and I knew I would need to be smart about this.

"Tell me Zeno," she said. "What do you know of Parfum Palace?"

"Not much," I grunted, sensing Froakie sneaking up behind her, sticking to the shadows. "But I know it's rich in history. Why is this relevant?"

We were still in the standstill, neither willing to stand down.

I could almost feel her smile. "Let me tell you something. This palace holds a secret. A hidden history, buried for centuries. I'll be around, waiting for when you discover what that history contains. You'll know where to find me."

Black smoke suddenly began pouring from vents on the side of her suit, filling the room in seconds. I cough, jumping backwards. In just ten seconds, the smoke had cleared, both her and Zoroark gone.

I lowered my knife and smiled back at Alex and Robert. "Yo."

Froakie leaped onto my shoulder, hugging my head while Riolu softly punched my leg. Arcanine padded up and licked the side of my face.

Alex had her hands on her hips, smiling, shaking her head. "How often do you find yourself in these situations?"

"More than I care to admit," I said, then I heard a shriek behind me. "Nevertheless, she's the first to get me into this type of situation."

No sooner had I said that, Princess Allie slammed into me, hugging my side. "Are you okay!? Are you hurt!? Are you- huh!?"

Alex yanked her off me, glowering down on her. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

Allie stood up straighter. "Making sure my fiancee isn't hurt instead of talking needlessly."

Alex's face darkened. "What did you just say? He ain't your fiancee."

"Oh," she put a hand to her mouth, smirking. "What, are you two currently engaged or something?"

Alex's face reddened and I was sure mine looked like hers. "No- I- uh," Alex spluttered, waving her hands. "We're- we're friends! Just friends!"

I tried to not let that get to me. I mean, we never were an official couple back in Alola, but we weren't just friends.

"Then again," I thought. "I did leave her for six months without contacting her. I'll need to find a time to apologize to her later."

"Oh ho ho," Allie laughed, clinging onto my arm now. "Then I see no issue here. Darling Zeno and I shall be wedded tomorrow without delay. Of course this whole mishap will not ruin that wonderful moment, so worry not my soon-to-be husband."

"Zeno," Alex slowly turned towards me. "Aren't you going to stand up for yourself?"

That was a dangerous tone. I turned to Robert desperately. "Help me out here man."

He just grinned, waving me off. "Yeah, no. I ain't walking into that minefield bud."

I groaned and tried to get back to the matter at hand. "Okay, look, we can come back to this later. At the moment, Allie."

I turned to look at her where she was still clinging to my arm. "How much of this palace's history do you know?"

"Why?" she asked.

"Because," I said, starting to feel my arm to go numb. "It'll help us get the artifact back."

"Oh, then," she straightened, finally letting go of my arm. "I know quite a bit actually. What do you want to know?"

I hesitated, then said, "Anything about this palace's "dark" history."

Her face fell a little. "Sorry, but I can't speak about that."

"Why not?" Robert asked.

Allie glared at him. "That section of history is forbidden to be spoken to outsiders."

"But," I started, then realized what I was going to have to do. "Listen, consider the history my... my wedding gift."

I immediately regretted saying those words as her face lit up and Alex went red. She began spluttering, but Princess Allie drowned her out with a shriek of delight.

"Alright then," she said, back to clinging me. "Though I'll warn you. It's not a pretty history."

She sat down, so I sat down as well, Alex and Robert following suit. All our Pokemon gathered beside us and Allie began to speak.

"It all started around 300 years ago," she said. "Back when the king who built this palace was still ruling..."

_The war had ended and the king had settled down in his palace, away from the rest of the world. He was getting old, old enough to the point where he no longer felt safe. Surely, he had thought, one of his many sons would try to take his position as king one day. He didn't want to give up his power. He felt as if winning the war should give him the right to rule! But his health was fading and his age climbed higher still. He knew he had to find a different method. One of the ideas he searched led him to be visited by a rather large fellow, by the name of AZ. He warned the king not to continue down this road, but the king ignored him. Finally, after years of searching, the king managed to capture the beast of Kalos legends. Beast X, the embodiment of Life itself. He had it experimented on here at Parfum Palace and even killed it, but it only revived itself. This only made the King want its power for himself even more. His road to eternal life never came to fruition though as he died only a year later after capturing it, but his sons continued on his cruel work until years later, the kindest of his sons, managed to release the creature. However, even with Beast X gone, it didn't erase the atrocities committed here, so the son grew a large hedge garden here, one in the shape of a Pyroar, one a Chandelure, and one a Solrock. It is said the son was given a prophecy that one day, the fourth hedge maze would one day be modeled into a fourth Pokemon, one that would represent the coming of chaos. So he left that one alone and to this day it remains untouched, overgrown, waiting for one of the lineage of the Parfums to create it._

"That was twisted," Alex remarked, but Allie ignored her.

The Princess looked at me. "One of the reasons we bought the artifact was because the Parfums had a connection to the legendary beast. It's said it holds the power to revive the dead if used correctly."

I mulled the tale over. "I don't know how this tale is supposed to be relevant, so I'm just gonna ignore the fact that you want me to marry into a family that does that. But, I think I know where we can get the artifact back."

"Where?" Alex asked.

Robert raised a hand. "The hedge maze, right?"

I nodded. "Seems logical to me."

I stood. "I'm guessing you all want to come."

Alex and Robert nodded, while all the Pokemon stepped closer, ready to fight. I nodded and turned to Princess Allie. "Sit this out . You're not cut out for fighting."

She nodded. "Don't worry, just leave the wedding arrangements to me."

Sighing mentally, I motioned for everyone to follow me and we left the Ball Room. I led the way down a hall to a pair of big wooden doors. Pushing them open, we stepped onto a small bridge connecting to the garden. Huge hedges stood in a maze like way.

"So, which one are we looking for?" Robert asked.

I shrugged. "We might have to split up."

Alex nodded. "I'll take the right one."

"I can take the left," Robert said.

"And I get the back," I nodded. "Alright, let's go."

I ran ahead on the cobblestone path, Arcanine and Riolu running behind me with Froakie on my shoulder. It was eerily quiet tonight as I skidded to a halt. There were two different hedges on either side of me. My instincts were telling me to go left, so I did. I walked into the maze and found that it was overgrown on the inside.

I drew my knife. This was the one. I led the way, eyes narrowed, darting around corners. Then I happened upon a small clearing, where I found the woman in black alongside her Zoroark.

"Took you long enough," she said.

"Yeah well," I got into a fighting position. "I had to listen to a story. Do tell me though, why is it relevant?"

"Isn't it obvious," she said plainly. "It's the exact reason I was sent here to retrieve this."

She held up the artifact and I held out my left hand. "Give it back. Don't make me take it by force."

She snapped her fingers and Zoroark lunged. Arcanine burst forwards, slamming into the Dark type. Riolu and Froakie ran to help as the woman darted forwards and I barely had time to dodge. I felt the tip of her knife slice across my cheek and a knee jabbed into my gut.

I groaned, getting to my feet, but I had managed to snag the artifact back. My side ached and I felt a little trickle of blood run down my cheek. I glanced behind me, seeing that Arcanine had disappeared into the hedges along with the enemy Pokemon. Turning my gaze back to the black clad opponent, I twirled my knife, settling it in my hand, blade facing behind me.

"Tell me who you are," I commanded. "Why do you need the artifact?"

"Oh come on Zeno," the vaguely feminine robotic voice gave a light chuckle. "We've met before haven't we."

She unclasped the helmet and I took a step back, my eyes widening. "You!? But- there's no way-!?"

"Yes," Kamake said, giving a smile as her wild blue hair danced slowly in the soft wind. "Now, Zeno, I think it's time you gave that back to me."

I held the artifact away from her with my left hand, raising my knife with my right. "Not gonna happen. Not in a million years."

Her eyes narrowed. "Then you'll have to be removed from the equation all together."

She dashed forwards, knife swinging. I gave a yell and charged, my knife swishing through the air, and an explosion rang out through the night air.

I saw fire out of the corner of my eye as I slid on the ground, slicing at Kamake's legs, but she nimbly dodged, her expression calculating. She threw the knife before I fully got up, but Riolu came out of nowhere, snatching the knife in his paw. He threw it up in the air and jumped with it, kicking the hilt, sending it flying back at her, blade first. She stepped to one side and caught the hilt. Flames were all around us now, but I ignored the heat.

"As for your other question," Kamake said. "I need that for my new boss' purposes. You know how it goes Zeno."

"Yeah," I said, eyes narrowed. "But why clue me in on all of this? Why give me the chance to get it back?"

She gave a cold smile. "Because, my boss wants to see what you're really made of. She wants to see if you can take her down, just like you did with Cassandra and the Shadow."

"Plus," she took a step forwards. "I find some sort of joy in crossing swords with you."

I heard a snarl and I was knocked from behind by Zoroark. I tried to hold onto the artifact, but Zoroark snatched it from me and gave it to Kamake.

"Goodbye Zeno," she said, latching her helmet back on and turned towards the wall of flames, walking straight into them. "Let's see if you can take us down this time, Hero Born of Darkness."

The flames swallowed her and Zoroark up and I slammed my fist on the ground. Arcanine padded up beside me, glaring at where the two went. They were gone.

I groaned as I got to my feet. "Froakie, start using Bubble on the fire. Arcanine, see if you can absorb any of it."

They got to work and soon, the fire was gone, leaving behind a charred hedge maze. Alex and Robert came up to me as soon as they were able.

"What happened?" Alex asked.

I glanced at where Kamake and Zoroark had disappeared. "Kamake got the artifact."

"Wait, who!?" Robert exclaimed, eyes wide in shock, Alex sporting the same look.

I nodded. "She's back. I don't know for what purpose, but she has a new boss."

"Well then," Alex put her hands on her hips. "We should get back on the road. We'll likely encounter her again."

"And when we do," Robert pounded his fists together. "We stop them."

I nodded. "Since we don't have any leads on them, that's the only thing we can do. But what about Princess Allie?"

"What about her?" Alex stepped in closer, her face dark.

"Look," I said, putting my hands up. "It'll be quite rude to just run off without telling her we're okay and all."

Alex grabbed me by my arm and began pulling me to the wall of hedges that surrounded the vast backyard. "We're slipping out of here. Arcanine, blast a hole in the wall."

He did and I groaned. "Fine then. But if the royal guard or something comes after us, it's you're fault."

"Man," Robert looked gleeful as we stepped through the hole we made in the hedge wall. "We're kidnapping the groom the night before the wedding. This is so exciting."

"Shut up!" Alex and I snapped in unison.

...

A shadow watched from the darkness as Zeno and his friends left. Already having gathered the information he needed, he slipped away. Slowly, but surely, the rise of Chaos was coming.

_"Life,"_ he thought. _"Death, Order, and Chaos. It has started. Just like she had said it would."_

**Kamake's back! Hah! Bet you all didn't see that one coming. Anyway, I had to get some tests done on me recently, but so far, no Celiac Disease. Final test results should come soon, but I doubt I have Celiac. I've been tested for it before, twice, so I think I'm safe. Well, till next time. Toodles**


	14. Chapter 13: Training Day

I tossed a pokeball in the air, catching it once it fell down. I was laying down in the guy's tent alone, pondering. Kamake was back. I already had a vague guess on why her new boss, whoever that was, would want the artifact. The power to revive the dead is what Princess Allie had said, but I was banking on the notion of everlasting life, like the king in the story.

Now the question was, who was Kamake working for? The people stealing the stones? The ones who messed with Garchomp? At the moment there were too many variables and I couldn't rule any possibility out. Especially the one where they are all connected.

_"Then there's Lysandre,"_ I thought, grabbing Robert's Holo Caster and checking the message again.

_"Squad 2 reporting. Two stones vital to our operation on Route 10 have been stolen. Currently tracking the culprits. Will report later."_

So that definitely ruled out there only being one party involved. So we had Lysandre and whatever he was up to and the ones who stole the stones. Who was Kamake working for? And who were the ones involved with Garchomp?

As my thoughts became more tangled, I heard the zipper to the tent slide down. I put down the Holo Caster to see Robert there.

"Food's ready," he jerked a thumb behind him and I nodded.

I crawled through the tent flap and stood, stretching. The air was beginning to cool as dusk swept across the small forest on the edge of Route 7. Robert had got a fire going with a boiling pot over it in the middle of the small clearing. Alex was already sitting on a log near it, with a light blue jacket to keep herself warm. She smiled when she saw me and I smiled back. I sat on a small log to the left of her, there being three logs in total, arranged in a triangle around the fire.

Robert dipped a ladle into the stew and filled a bowl with it, handing it to Alex, who nodded in thanks as she sipped at it with a spoon. I got mine next and I took a spoonful, blew on it, then carefully ate it.

"So," Robert said as he began giving out pokefood to all our Pokemon around us. "It's been a day. Any thoughts on Kamake?"

I nodded, putting my stew down. "There's at least two parties involved. Lysandre and his group, and then Kamake and her boss. Whoever Kamake's new group is, they were probably the ones who stole the stones on Route 10, but I can't rule out the possibility of there being a third group."

"It's Alola all over again," Alex commented as she went for more stew, testing the handle of the ladle that was sticking out of the pot.

"Yeah," I said. "Seems that way huh. But that just adds more to the mystery. Like which one drugged Garchomp? Lysandre, Kamake, or this hypothetical third group?"

Robert nodded, finally digging into his stew. "They're not going to make it easy for us are they?"

I shook my head. "It never is. Though, from what Kamake said, her boss wants to test me."

"That just means we're going to run into them again," Alex said. "At least finding them will be easy."

I nodded, but I was still bothered by something. "Look, we're going to be dealing with a lot of dangerous people."

"Just like Alola," Robert pointed out.

"Yes," I said. "I know, but-"

"Zeno," Alex put down her spoon. "We're going to stop them. No matter the risk."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know. That's now what I'm getting at."

Now they looked confused. I hesitated, then said, "In Alola, we got lucky. There wasn't a whole lot of hand-to-hand combat and when there was, I took care of most of it."

I looked at my three Pokemon, Arcanine finishing his bowl with Froakie and Riolu next to him eating their own food. "We need to rely on our Pokemon to help us, but that doesn't guarantee we'll always have them at our side. That's why I want to train you two."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Train us?"

I nodded. "We can start off with just our bodies, but if you guys want, I'll show you both how to properly handle knives."

Robert sipped his bowl. "What exactly will you be teaching us?"

"The basics," I said. "How to go hand-to-hand, disarming your opponents, how to spot for weaknesses, stuff like that."

He nodded. "Alright, I'm in. Should be useful."

Alex shrugged. "I know a bit of fighting from back home, but alright, yeah. Let's do it."

I grinned. "Good. Then we get up with the sun tomorrow. Oh yeah, we'll transition from fighting alongside our Pokemon to just us."

"Will it be us two vs you?" Robert asked and I nodded, then he said, "Won't it be unfair then?"

I smirked. "Yeah, it will. For you two at least."

...

"Now then," I said. "Lesson number 1, how to fight hand-to-hand. Robert, if you please."

He hesitantly came forwards and I smiled innocently. When I motioned with my fists, he raised his. In quick succession, I struck his arms, which he barely managed to use to defend himself.

He winced. "Ow."

"Trust me," I said. "I'm holding back. Now, what should you do when I go to strike?"

"Cower in fear," he joked.

I sighed. "Keep your arms like that. Block my punches. When I show signs of letting up, throw out your punches, but return your arms back into position."

He nodded. "Sounds easy."

"It is," I said, then struck again. I made sure to go a bit lighter on the punches this time and he kept in form. When I pulled back my hands a little, he struck. I blocked his punches with my open palms, smiling.

"Good," I encouraged. "Good form. Now Alex, your turn."

She nodded and took Robert's place. I didn't bother with instructions this time, knowing she had been paying attention to Robert and me. As I struck, she blocked with ease before dropping to her hands and swinging her leg, knocking me off my feet. I fell on the ground and a breath escaped.

"Sorry," Alex looked apologetic. "Didn't mean to hurt you."

I waved my hand, grinning. "No no, I'm fine. But where did you learn to fight like that?"

She shrugged, rubbing her neck. "I, I guess I just picked it up."

I wasn't going to push her. If she didn't want to tell me, I was alright with that. I had kept my fair share of secrets and still do.

"Okay then," I said, getting back into position. "Let me show you what to do when you can't take a person down like that."

For a couple hours, with occasional breaks for water and food, I managed to teach them a few basics, Robert learning quickly, but not as quick as Alex. I had to keep my guard up when I trained with her. She already knew a couple tricks, which I was beginning to grow more curious about.

"Okay," I said, wiping the sweat off my face. "Enough of this."

Alex and Robert let their arms go limp, more exhausted than me for sure. I had them team up against me, yet they couldn't get an inch in. Hopefully they could eventually.

"Now," I clapped my hands and Arcanine padded over, shaking his body. Froakie and Riolu stood on either side of me, both ready. "Pokemon, up front."

Snorlax stood to Robert's left with his Chespin on his right. Alex's Ninetales stood next to Chespin on her trainer's left with Flabebe and Combee to her right.

"Training with just humans won't be enough," I said. "With Pokemon, a new level of danger enters the battle. You have to fully trust in your Pokemon and their abilities for this to work. Cover for each other. Of course, the desirable course of action is humans vs humans and Pokemon vs Pokemon, but the world doesn't play by rules. So then, both of you and your Pokemon," I held out my arms, grinning. "Come at us."

Alex and Robert shared a look, before nodding. They rushed forwards, Alex taking the lead. She swung for me, but I ducked, catching her in the middle. I saw Combee flying towards me as I let Alex fall to the ground, so I spun my body around and let Froakie leap over me, slashing a glowing blade. I rolled along the ground, watching as Arcanine tackled Ninetales while Snorlax barreled towards me.

Running forwards, I yelled, "Force Palm!"

I jumped, Riolu's palm shooting me just high enough to kick off the back of Snorlax's head. I tucked in my body and rolled along the ground, sending Robert off his feet. I heard a loud thump and looked back to see Riolu had tripped Snorlax.

"How in the world did you do that!?" Robert exclaimed as I helped him to his feet.

"Years of Practice," I said. "And a little imagination. Pokemon provide an interesting combination on the battlefield. Learn to use it."

I looked up at the blue sky, noting that it was midday. "Okay, we're done for today. Lunch!"

...

"Ugh," Alex winced as she sat on her log, taking a sandwich from Robert. "Bruises for days huh."

"You said it," Robert said as he winced as well.

I chuckled. "Look, I'm not saying I'm enjoying this, but I'm not not saying that."

"Laugh it up," Alex said through a mouthful of food, then swallowed.

"You know," I said, chewing. "You guys did pretty good. I say we train every night before we sleep. Give it a couple weeks and you guys should be able to hold your own in a fight."

"Hey," Robert swallowed. "How about we do a Pokemon battle afterwards?"

I nodded. "Pokemon training is a must."

"Sure," Alex agreed. "How'll we do this?"

"Let's see," I stroked my chin. "Robert, how much healing supplies you got?"

"A ton," he said. "With extras for emergency."

I nodded. "Good. I'll go against Robert, then whoever wins can face you Alex."

She nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Robert pulled out a bag with a red plus sign on it. "Potions at the ready. Let's do this."

"So," I nodded at Robert's pokeballs. "Two vs two I take it?"

He nodded. "Don't want you to have the advantage now do I."

I grinned and held out a hand to Riolu. "Alright then, Riolu, lend me a hand will you?"

"Riol," he slapped me on the hand as he walked past and slammed a fist into his open palm, taunting Chespin who stood next to Robert. The Grass type jerked his head forwards. "Ches ches chespin!"

"I think they're ready," Robert got up and I went to the far side of the clearing. Riolu came to stand in front of me, feet spread apart and fists clenched.

Alex went to stand as referee. "Alright then, the battle will be a two on two battle between Zeno and Robert. It goes until one person's party completely faints. Begin!"

"Riolu," I said. "Let's start this wi-"

Before I could finish, Riolu had already started running forwards, fists glowing. He repeatedly punched Chespin in the face and stomach, sending him backwards.

"Hang in there Chespin," Robert called out. "Now use Vine Whip!"

Two vines shot from the back of the Grass type's head and slammed into the ground where Riolu had just been a second ago. Chespin's eyes looked upwards to see Riolu in the air, just having jumped.

"Use Force Palm!" I shouted, but Riolu ignored me.

Instead, his right foot was set ablaze with fire. The flames intensified, shooting his foot forwards in an arc. He slammed his blazing foot into Chespin, knocking him backwards, fire shooting in all directions. Riolu skidded on the grass, but his foot was still ablaze. He stomped his foot on the ground, but the fire was still there.

My eyes widened. "Froakie, Water Pulse!"

I saw Froakie leap up from where he was watching by Arcanine and fire the sphere of water on Riolu, knocking him backwards. Riolu landed on his back, where he shook his head to shake off the water, the fire quenched.

I ran over to him. "Riolu! You alright!"

He tried to sit up, but winced when he moved his right foot. That and a bit of his leg had been burned.

"Robert," I called and he yelled back, "Already on it."

He rushed forwards with a Burn Heal and began applying it to Riolu's foot and leg. Riolu hissed at the pain, but then sighed as the burn began clearing up. Robert then grabbed a potion and sprayed Riolu with it, healing him back to full health.

"You better now pal," I said as Riolu sat up and gave a thumbs up. "Riol!"

"What was that though?" I wondered.

Robert pulled out his pokedex. "We never did check his attacks did we."

He scanned Riolu and a bar popped up.

"Riolu, the Emanation Pokemon. It uses the shapes of auras, which change according to emotion, to communicate with others."

"Let's see," Robert began scrolling down through the entry before saying, "Here it is. Looks like he can use Quick Attack, Counter, Bullet Punch, Force Palm, and Blaze Kick. Sweet move set so far. And hey, his ability is Prankster. Makes sense for him."

"Yeah, better hope he doesn't keep that ability," Alex said, coming up to us with Chespin in her arms. She gave him to Robert who started treating him. "And that didn't look like a normal Blaze Kick."

I looked at Riolu. "Are you unable to properly use Blaze Kick?"

Riolu looked embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"That makes sense actually," Robert said, still treating his Grass type. "Blaze Kick is sometimes passed down to a Riolu when a Blaziken is one of the parents. But egg moves can be volatile at the best of times. It takes patience and a lot of training to master them. Bullet Punch seems to be another egg move of his, but since it's a simple attack, it isn't a problem."

"But Blaze Kick," he continued, helping Chespin up. "That could seriously be an issue for him if he doesn't manage to control it. I'd advise not using it in actual battles."

"Riolu," I said. "You hear that?"

He blew air from his nostrils, looking to the side at the ground.

"Hey," I placed a hand on his head and he looked up at me, where I wore a smile. "Look, I'm going to do everything I can to help you master Blaze Kick. But for now, we'll just have to be careful with it."

He nodded in understanding, then I frowned. "Oh, and I know your ability is Prankster, but how about you try and listen to my commands."

He looked sheepish and I smiled again, rubbing his head. "Alrighty then. Hey Robert, I think we should stop it here."

He nodded. "Yeah, agreed."

I looked at Alex. "You still want to battle?"

She waved her hand. "Nah, we don't have to. I think it'll be better for you and Riolu to have more of a training session than a mock battle."

I nodded and pointed to a rock on the far side of the clearing. "Let's go over there Riolu. We can try some kicking exercises."

He nodded and we headed over there. We trained until dinner, which by that time the sun was on its way to setting. The rock had large cracks in it now and Riolu was panting. We trained with both of his feet, how to kick properly in different directions and how to improve his accuracy. After dinner, we sat near the rock in silence, concentrating on our breathing. In the end, his concentration was slightly improved, but I had noticed him getting restless at some points. Blaze Kick was still far off from being mastered, but I knew that together, we would reach that goal.

**Has it seriously been six days since the last update for this!? Jeez, I need to step up my game on this. The next two chapters will definitely be interesting, especially the latter. And did I mention we won't even be through a fourth of this book by Chapter 15? The expected projection of this book is around 80 chapters. Still fifty/fifty on some chapters that I have planned, but LDOC will still be longer than HBoD for sure. So still a ton of stuff to look forwards to. Some of course related to the games and anime, but I have some interesting original plot points coming up in the future that'll be epic to write. So, till the next update, which I'll try to get out in the next four days. Still not sure if I want to publish another chapter of this before TMR, but we'll see. So, till then. Toodles**


	15. Chapter 14: A Battle at the Chateau

Alex, Robert, and I walked along Route 7 with a wide river snaking to our right and fields of flowers to our left. I had Arcanine and Riolu in their pokeballs, Froakie on my shoulder. Combee and Flabebe were fluttering around Alex, who occasionally chuckled at their happiness. Robert meanwhile was tinkering with his Holo Caster, doing who knows what to it.

I pulled out my map and opened it. I scanned it until I found where we were at. "Hey, looks like we're coming to a castle of sorts up ahead somewhere."

"Really?" Robert looked up. "Cool. Any details on it?"

I nodded. "Just the name. The Battle Chateau."

Alex stopped in the middle of playing with her two Pokemon. "A battle facility huh. Maybe it's like the Battle Frontier. That would be something."

"Well," Robert pointed up ahead. "We're about to find out."

In the distance, the Battle Chateau was coming into view. Another ten minutes of walking and we were standing near the stone bridge leading to the castle atop the river.

"Go inside?" Alex asked.

I shrugged. "Might as well. I'm kinda interested to see what goes on here."

I walked across the bridge, Alex and Robert close behind me. I pressed my hands on the large wooden doors and pushed. They opened with a large creak and immediately I was blinded by the lustrous floor inside. Everything from the ivory carpet and the floor, walls, to the ceiling looked highly expensive.

A butler walked over, a monocle on his right eye. "Good day trainers. Have you come to join the Battle Chateau League?"

"Uh," I wasn't too sure on what to say. "We just came to check this place out and see if we could battle."

He eyed us carefully. "You'll need to be part of the league to battle against members. I'm afraid though you can't just join on a whim. You'll need a letter of recommendation or the voice of a Marchioness or higher to stand for you."

His eyes seemed cold. "If not, then I must ask you three to leave."

Sharing an uneasy look with my two friends, I said, "Yeah, alright. We'll go."

Just as we turned to leave, a voice rang out, "Wait! I will voice for them."

Turning back around, I saw the last person I expected to see here. Clara stood in an open doorway across from the main doors, dressed in a Gothic black dress with black boots. Her medium length black hair was combed nicely to one side, covering her left eye. She smirked at us as she strode over, her boots clacking on the marble floor when she stepped off the rug.

"Please give them the titles of Baron, Wilson," she said. "And have a match set up for me against him."

She pointed a black painted fingernail at me and Wilson nodded. "Right away Duchess Clara. I shall inform the other members once I am done here."

She nodded and before she left, she grinned at me. "Well then, Baron Zeno, our rematch comes up soon."

As soon Wilson was done with giving us our titles and everything, he led us through the Chateau.

Hanging back with my friends, Alex whispered fiercely, "Duchess!? Her!?"

"Appears so," I muttered. "But how the heck is she one?"

"Doesn't matter at this point," Robert whispered. "You'll have to battle her. What were her Pokemon again?"

"A Scizor," Alex said. "And a Barbaracle. Two powerful Pokemon."

"Arcanine will wipe Scizor away completely," Robert muttered. "But against Barbaracle, he's at a high disadvantage."

"You able to back out?" Alex asked.

I shook my head. "Even if I can, I won't. I want to see if she grew stronger."

Sighing, Alex said, "Alright, but how are you going to beat her? At most she could ask for a three on three match if she has a Pokemon we haven't seen before. And if she does, I don't know if you can win with just Arcanine, Froakie, and Riolu."

I smiled. "We'll do our best."

We entered a room with the left wall comprising of windows and a walkway leading to a stone platform on the lake. Inside the room, comfy chairs and couches were placed about, people in fancy suits and dresses milled about. Amongst them I was sure I had spotted Viola of Santalune Gym with a guy standing next to her. His skin was a chocolate brown and his black hair stood up, several brightly colored stones in it.

Everyone was talking animatedly until Wilson rang a bell. "Everyone, a battle will begin shortly between Baron Zeno and Duchess Clara."

The crowd of people eyed me as Wilson directed me towards the walkway outside. I heard them muttering curiously as I made my way to the platform. There, Clara stood on one end, pokeball in hand.

"Come forwards Baron," she said. "Let us do battle."

Wilson came to stand as referee. "This will be a three on three battle between Duchess Clara and Baron Zeno. The winner will be the one with the remaining Pokemon. You may begin."

Clara simply tossed her pokeball into the air, releasing Scizor. The Bug type's wings buzzed for a second before he spotted me. His eyes narrowed, but he recognized we were about to have an honest battle.

I tossed out Arcanine. He shook himself, noticed the castle and all the fancy clothes, and straightened himself, looking regal as the sun shone on him. I noticed many amongst the onlookers look at him with adoring eyes.

"Stop milking it," I said to him.

"Baron Zeno," Clara called. "You may have the first move."

I ran my hand through my hair. "Geez, I have a bad feeling about this."

I grinned, raising my hand. "But let's fight at our best! Arcanine, Heat Wave!"

Flames flickered on Arcanine's fur, a wave of heat blasting from him. It rolled over the stone battlefield towards Scizor, hot enough for me to feel from behind it.

"Up," Clara said simply and Scizor shot into the air, avoiding the attack. "Now, prepare Razor Wind. Make it as strong as you can."

Scizor held back his right claw, wind gathering in swirls.

"Don't let him," I warned. "Flamethrower!"

Arcanine planted his huge paws and fired a jet of flames from his maw. Scizor's eyes flashed and Clara yelled, "Now!"

He thrust his claw forwards, the wind slicing the flames in half. The wind continued and slammed into Arcanine, who was moved back half a foot.

"Now use Bullet Punch!" Clara commanded.

"She's getting in close," I shouted. "Fire Fang!"

His mouth burst into flames as he lunged forwards, biting down. Scizor managed to dodge by swinging himself slightly to the left as he battered Arcanine with punches on his side.

"Extreme Speed!" I yelled.

Arcanine twisted his body around with surprising agility and slammed into Scizor, sending him skittering across the ground.

"Finish him with Heat Wave!" I commanded.

Arcanine blasted Scizor with a wave of heat as he tried to stand, but fainted from the intensity.

"Scizor is unable to battle," Wilson announced. "Duchess Clara, send out your next Pokemon."

Recalling Scizor, Clara shrugged. I had expected more of a tantrum, but then I remembered where we were. She had built up a reputation here, being a duchess and all. Maybe it was all for show, but I felt as if she wasn't entirely putting on an act.

Tossing out her second Pokemon, Clara said, "Barbaracle, Razor Shell!"

He appeared on the battlefield and a blade of water formed in his right hand. He charged forwards, slashing Arcanine in the chest.

"Bear with me here," I encouraged Arcanine. "Flame Wheel!"

Arcanine spun into a ball of fire and began going in circles around the Water type.

"Use Agility as well," I said as Clara shouted, "Stone Edge; Full Circle!"

Barbaracle slammed a fist on the ground, huge stones bursting up around him in a circle, slamming Arcanine into the air.

"Razor Shell!" Clara yelled.

Barbaracle swung the blade of water as Arcanine fell, making him crashing into the ground and roll a couple feet.

Clara smiled as Wilson began to speak, but I held up a hand. "Not yet. We aren't finished."

Arcanine placed his paws on the ground, heaving himself up. When he turned his gaze towards Barbaracle, his eyes glowed orange. A blast of flames, then an orange aura had enveloped the Fire type.

"Arcanine," I said. "Been a while since we had to use this. Reversal!"

He bounded forwards, glowing with energy. Just as he neared the Water type, Clara shouted, "Low Sweep! Follow up with Ancient Power!"

Barbaracle dropped to the ground, swinging out his leg, tripping Arcanine over him. He swung his arm up, fossil rocks pounding into the Fire type. He crashed to the ground, fainted.

I was stunned. I had to remember Clara wasn't some beginner. She had her Pokemon for who knows how long, training. She probably had gym badges if not all of them by this point. I couldn't underestimate her. That was my folly.

"Arcanine is unable to battle," Wilson said. "Baron Zeno, please send out your next Pokemon."

I returned my partner and tucked the ball away. I was gonna have to be smart about this. Since Clara's Pokemon were powerful, maybe more so than Arcanine, Froakie and Riolu couldn't match them with just strength alone.

"Improvising," I thought, as I grabbed Riolu's pokeball. "Time to do what I do best."

Riolu appeared on the battlefield and he observed the situation. Seeing his opponent loom over him only made him adopt a battle stance, right paw on the ground. I felt a slight breeze filter by me, carrying with it an emotion. An eagerness to battle, but also one of acceptance.

I looked to Riolu, who turned his head slightly to look at me, nodding. I grinned. I don't know how, but I could feel his emotions. I knew he could use his emotions to communicate with Pokemon, but could he do the same with humans?

Shaking my head, I called out, "Alright then Riolu! Wait for Barbaracle to attack!"

Clara tilted her head slightly, smiling. "Letting me go first? How nice of you. Barbaracle, Aerial Ace!"

The Water type's claws glowed as he shot forwards, swinging them.

"Now," I announced. "Force Palm!"

Riolu pressed harder on the ground before he shot upwards into the air, slight crackles of electricity sparking where his palm had just been. Barbaracle's claws swung widely, but Riolu was out of his reach now.

"Bullet Punch!" I shouted.

Riolu skidded on the ground behind the Rock type and shot forwards, striking Barbaracle in the back repeatedly.

"Night Slash!" Clara yelled.

Barbaracle swirled around, dark wind battering against Riolu. He was thrown backwards, but immediately got to his feet, rushing back towards his opponent.

"Counter!" I shouted and Riolu leaped into the air, fist glowing as he struck Barbaracle in the face with twice the power.

"Use Fury Cutter," Clara commanded.

Barbaracle slashed Riolu, sending him further up in the air, before slashing him again, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Keep using Counter!" I shouted.

Riolu shot to his feet as he jumped, fist drawn back.

"Razor Shell!"

Barbaracle slammed Riolu back down, creating a small crater, stone pieces flying away. I saw pain in Riolu's eyes, then anger. I felt a surge of emotion from him as his foot struck ablaze. He shot upwards, blazing right foot first as he slammed it into Barbaracle's face. The Water type took a step backwards, face singed, as Riolu dropped to the ground, fainted, foot slightly scorched. I returned him to his ball as Wilson announced Riolu had fainted.

I gripped the pokeball tightly. He got lucky this time, not being too injured by the Blaze Kick, but still, I had a feeling his emotions played a big part in his fighting capability. I held out my arm and Froakie leaped onto it from where he had been watching from behind me.

"Do your best out there," I said. "The odds aren't too great, but we can still win this."

Froakie nodded and leaped onto the battlefield. "Froakie, use Water Pulse!"

Froakie formed the sphere and launched it at Barbaracle. It barely hurt him as Clara shouted, "Stone Edge!"

Barbaracle slammed his foot on the ground, huge rocks jutting out of the ground towards Froakie.

"Dodge using Quick Attack!" I shouted.

Froakie zigzagged between the rocks towards Barbaracle.

"Ancient Power!"

"Bounce off of them!"

Froakie leaped onto the first rock sent his way and leaped onto the others.

"Stop him with Slash!" Clara commanded.

"Use your bubbles to stop his attack!" I yelled.

Froakie launched his bubbles, which stuck to the Rock type's claws, rendering them useless. Froakie then proceeded to throw his bubbles at Barbaracle's feet, making him unable to move.

"Now," I said. "Use Cut!"

A small glowing blade formed in Froakie's hands as he leaped at Barbaracle, slashing at his middle.

"Combine Cut with Quick Attack!" I shouted.

Froakie was becoming a blur, slashing at the Rock type every second.

"Break free with Night Slash!" Clara ordered.

Barbaracle clenched his body as a fierce dark wind formed around his arm and he directed it at the bubbles at his feet. Now free, he swung the wind around blasting Froakie away. Froakie was injured, close to fainting maybe, but we had whittled away at Barbaracle, so he must be close as well.

"Now then," I said, throwing my fist out. "Let's finish this! Water Pulse!"

Froakie leaped into the air, launching the sphere at Barbaracle.

"Stop it with Clamp!" Clara shouted.

Barbaracle slammed both hands down on the Water Pulse, but failed to notice Froakie running low towards him.

"Cut!" I yelled and Froakie leaped upwards, slicing at Barbaracle's chest. "Water Pulse!"

Twisting midair, Froakie launched the attack, striking the Rock type in the back. Barbaracle collapsed to his knees, falling face forwards.

"Barbaracle is unable to battle," Wilson said. "Duchess Clara, please send out your last Pokemon."

Clara returned Barbaracle without much regret on her face as she sent out her third Pokemon.

Smirking, she said, "Heliolisk, Thunderbolt."

I clenched my teeth as the bolt of electricity struck Froakie, making him faint on the spot.

Wilson raised a hand. "Froakie is unable to battle. Baron Zeno is out of usable Pokemon. That means Duchess Clara is the winner."

The crowd watching clapped and I sighed as I went over to Froakie, who blinked at me.

He looked sad, but I smiled as I shook my head. "We lost. Remember it well. Because next time we'll be stronger."

Froakie croaked, fire burning in his eyes, and I recalled him to his pokeball. Standing, I met Clara in the middle.

"Thanks for the battle," I said, shaking her hand. "You showed me I have some training I need to do."

"It was my pleasure," she said, and as we both turned to walk back into the Chateau, I barely heard her whisper, "How does it feel to be weaker, Baron?"

I ignored her, still keeping a smile on my face. Sure, this was all in act for her, but I still knew, she had enjoyed that battle. Not just for beating me, but because she simply felt thrilled from battling. I would cling to that, and maybe, maybe be able to show that to her.

Robert clapped me on the back. "You did your best out there. But man, to think you would lose to her of all people."

I saw Viola and the guy she was with walk over.

"A wonderful battle," Viola said. "Shame you lost. I would like to introduce you to Grant, the gym leader of Cyllage City."

I grasped his hand. "Nice to meet you. I guess you're my next challenge?"

He chuckled. "More like a wall for you to climb. From what I saw, I have a feeling I'll enjoy our upcoming match."

I grinned, then I heard shouts and the rushing of feet. We all whirled around towards the door that lead back to the main entrance hall. Everyone was rushing away from it as people ran into the room, either holding pokeballs or Pokemon following them.

My eyes widened. Those jumpsuits, those colors. No, it couldn't-

"ZENO!"

My eyes turned to the voice belonging to a woman wearing a midnight black jumpsuit, the emblem of the sun and moon on each of her shoulders. Her long red hair swayed as she came to a stop in front of her grunts, hands on her hips.

Her blue eyes met mine, sending a chill down my spine. "Hello Zeno. Team Radiance has a score to settle with you."

**Not only has Zeno lost to his rival, but now Team Radiance has made a return! What an unexpected turn of events. Why is Team Radiance in Kalos and what do they want from Zeno? Find out next time readers. Toodles**


	16. Chapter 15: Team Radiance Returns

"Team Radiance," I breathed.

I heard people shuffle behind us and the creaking of a door, but the woman who looked like Cassandra raised her hand. "Try and run if you all want to. But I'm afraid there's no escape. We have taken control of the Chateau."

"Not for long," Clara yelled, stepping forwards, letting out her Heliolisk. "Thunderbolt!"

Someone stepped forwards, raising their arm, a circular disk protruding from their black jumpsuit. The bolt of electricity was drawn to it and the disk absorbed it.

Kamake smiled as she lowered her arm. "We'll have none of that now dear."

Clara's eyes narrowed, but two other people stepped forwards. Viola and Grant.

"We're gym leaders of Kalos," Viola announced as she and Grant sent out a Vivillon and a Tyrunt. "We're not going to let you get away with this."

The woman sighed, reminding me even more of Cassandra. But, it couldn't be. She had died. Crushed by falling debris. This couldn't be her. It just couldn't.

She sent out two Pokemon. A Volcarona. No, Cassandra's Volcarona.

"Heat Wave," she said.

Volcarona screeched, flapping her six wings, a wave of heat blasting into Vivillon, Tyrunt, and Heliolisk. Their trainers had to take several steps back to avoid the worst of the attack. My hand automatically went to Arcanine's pokeball, then I remembered he was still recovering from our battle with Clara.

Out of the three Pokemon hit by Heat Wave, only Tyrunt remained standing, if only barely.

"Disappointing for being gym leaders," the woman sighed, then set her gaze on me. "But now for the real reason for being here. Hello Zeno, I don't think we had the pleasure of meeting."

"So you aren't Cassandra," I said, stepping forwards to make myself the primary target. Have her focused on me.

She chuckled, then her eyes hardened. "Of course not. Though, I must say I do bare some similarities with my mother."

Shocked, I took half a step backwards as she raised her hands into the air, Volcarona hovering above. "I am Eve, daughter of Cassandra, and the new leader of Team Radiance!"

She lowered her hands. "I must say, I have been extremely enraged by you, Hero Born of Darkness."

"You're too late to call me that," I said. "I've left that part of me behind."

"Too bad," she said, smirking. "Because I have a feeling this region might need a hero. Especially one that managed to destroy the Shadow."

"What do you want?" I asked, my hand purposely close to Arcanine's pokeball, but my knife was situated behind it, out of sight from her.

"To see what you're made of," Eve said simply. "I want to see the strength of the boy who managed to kill my mother and beat the Shadow."

"I didn't kill her," I said, eyes narrowed. "Her own stupidity that she could trust the Shadow to live up to his word caused her demise."

"Convince yourself all you want," she said, glaring at me. "But we both know you had a hand in it."

My fist tightened. True, if I hadn't fainted all her Pokemon, she could've had a way to live.

"The past is the past," I said. "Besides, if you've come here to battle me, don't even bother. My Pokemon are unable to battle at the moment."

She pursed her lip. "A pity. Then how about this."

She snapped her fingers and the grunts began leaving, Kamake staying by Eve's side. "Meet us at the entrance to Connecting Cave by evening. That should give you plenty of time to heal. And for insurance,"

She nodded and Kamake held up her other arm, pressing a button on it. Three beams of light shot from it and circled around Vivillon, Tyrunt, and Heliolisk. Viola, Grant, and Clara tried to run forwards, but Volcarona flew forwards, blocking their path. Kamake lifted her arm and the three Pokemon were raised into the air effortlessly.

"We wait you at evening," Eve said, then left along with Kamake. A full minute passed before Volcarona went after them.

I sighed, letting my hand go limp.

Clara came to stand in front of me, clutching the front of my shirt. By then, only my friends, Viola, Grant, and Clara were still here. Everyone else had booked it.

"Tell me," she put her face close to mine. "What the hell is going on here!"

I shook her off me. "Long story short, when we traveled through Alola, we encountered Team Radiance multiple times. I beat their leader, Cassandra, and she ended dying from the collapsed roof."

"None of that matters right now," Viola said, getting between me and Clara. "What we need to do is get our Pokemon back."

Grant nodded. "Whatever happened with Zeno and them is not the main concern here."

Clara backed off, but she still glared at me. Add this to her list of reasons why she hated me.

"She asked for Zeno," Alex reminded us. "However much you guys want to battle, you can't."

"And why should we play by their rules!?" Clara snapped at her.

"Because Zeno managed to defeat her mother and the Shadow," Robert said. "He took second place in the Alolan Pokemon League."

Grant slapped his forehead. "That's where I've seen you before. I watched that live."

Clara smirked. "Yeah, but I managed to beat him. If anything, I should take on Eve. Surely I'm more capable."

I rested my hand on Arcanine's pokeball as she, Alex, and Robert bickered while Viola and Grant tried to make peace. It was true. Clara was stronger than me. I also didn't want to send out Froakie and Riolu against what I was sure was Cassandra's entire team in the hands of her daughter.

I looked to Robert. "I need some of your potions."

He stopped arguing, which prompted Alex and Clara to stop as well, before taking off his backpack.

"You seriously aren't going to try and battle her with just Arcanine are you?" Clara asked sarcastically. "'Cause that's gonna go well. Unless of course you're just gonna sacrifice Froakie and Riolu."

I ignored her and looked at Viola. "I have a favor to ask."

...

The sun was setting by the time we saw Connecting Cave. In front of the entrance was Team Radiance, Eve waiting with a smile on her face.

"Come Zeno," she said, grabbing a pokeball and sending out Golduck, another one of Cassandra's Pokemon. "Come and show me the power of the Hero Born of Darkness."

I raised my gaze to meet hers. "Your funeral."

Her eye twitched, the word funeral striking a nerve.

"Now then," I raised my pokeball, making sure everyone else was far enough behind me. "Because I was partially responsible for Cassandra's death, I'll fight you with all I have."

"Just know that I have a full team of six," she said, Golduck slowly walking forwards, fist slowly covering itself in ice. "And I won't be holding back."

"Neither will I," I said, launching the pokeball into the air. "Leaf Blade."

With a flash of light, something flew past Golduck, slicing across his chest, sending him flying behind Eve. A slight wind blew my hair back from the impact as I grinned at Eve's wide eyes. I also heard a small gasp from behind me, which I was pretty sure was from Clara.

"Now then!" I called out to my Pokemon, who stood, talons digging into the earth, cloak rustling in the wind. "Let's give her all we got, Decidueye!"

...

Viola led me to a room where PC was set up, a capsule connected to its side. "Here."

I nodded. "Thanks."

Everyone had followed us as I booted up the machine. I typed in a number and waited. The screen flickered and then materialized. At first I could only see the inside of a cabin-like house, a huge tank of water to the right. Then someone came into view, and I, along with Alex and Robert who were on either side of me exclaimed, "Lillie!"

She grinned at us through the screen, her hair up in a ponytail, dressed in a white Aether suit. "Zeno! Alex and Robert! Alola!"

We grinned. "Alola."

Lillie was about to say something, but a crash somewhere to her right made her turn that way. "Give me a moment."

She disappeared from the screen and we heard her yell, "Hurry it up you two! Zeno's on the screen!"

She returned moments later with two people who were both covered in dirt. Kukui with his white lab coat and lack of shirt along with Gladion, who was wearing an Aether uniform like Lillie.

"Alola cousins," Kukui greeted with a wave of a hand.

Gladion crossed his arms, his blonde hair having grown out more on his left side, no longer giving him the emo look. He grinned. "How's it going Zeno. Died again?"

"Ha ha," I said. "Great to see you all too. Look, I have a favor Kukui. I need you to send me my Pokemon."

"Which ones?" he asked.

"All of them," I said, deadly serious.

Gladion raised an eyebrow. "New rival beating you?"

"Nah," Robert said besides me, grinning. "She only just beat him earlier."

"That's," I raised my hand to block Robert's face. "Not why I need my Pokemon. Team Radiance is back."

Lillie sighed. "So that's where they went. Aether has been trying to track them, but we lost sight of them two months ago. So they're in Kalos now huh."

I nodded. "I only have three Pokemon with me at the moment. Arcanine being the only one able to go against Eve."

"Who's Eve?" Gladion asked.

"Cassandra's daughter," I said. "Look, we don't have a lot of time. They have hostages and Eve wants to test me I guess."

Kukui nodded and walked away, presumably to gather my Pokemon. I directed my eyes to Gladion. "Where's Mahina?"

He shook his head. "She and Silvally are being examined at Aether."

"Harmless," he said, seeing my expression. "Trust me. Mahina's choice. Anyway, Aether's been receiving reports of stray Ultra Beasts. Just rumors, but Hau's checking it out."

"Which is why he isn't here," Lillie continued for her brother. "He'll be jealous that we got to speak to you without him."

I chuckled, imagining Hau flipping out. "We'll call him later."

Alex leaned in closer. "Say Lillie, how's the relationship going."

Lillie went bright red and she looked away. "Well, you know, it's-"

"Yeah, Lillie," Gladion folded his arms. "I'd like to know as well."

Lillie puffed out her cheeks. "I don't have to tell you anything brother."

The three of us in Kalos laughed while Gladion just looked slightly amused. I heard an impatient sigh from behind us and knew Clara was reaching her limit.

"Will you all just hurry it up already," she snapped. Scratch that. She had just reached her limit.

Gladion peered forwards. "Who's that?"

"Zeno's rival," Robert said immediately and I slapped him on the back of the head.

"Ah," Gladion grinned. "Zeno, you lost to a girl in a goth dress."

I heard Clara grit her teeth as I chuckled. "Is it any better than losing to you emo boy?"

"Good point," Gladion said, rubbing his hair. "But I'm pretty sure I'm no longer emo anymore. Just like how you're no longer a stalker."

I cocked a smile. "The trench is gone. Deal with it."

Kukui came back into view, carrying five pokeballs. "Here we are. They'll be with you a minute, Zeno."

I nodded. "Thanks Kukui. Give my regards to your wife."

He grinned. "Will do."

Soon, I had clipped my old pokeballs onto my belt alongside, Arcanine's, Froakie's, and Riolu's. "Feels good to have them back."

I looked back up at the screen. "Once I deal with Team Radiance, I'll send them back. If Froakie and Riolu are to get stronger, I can't rely on me old team."

Kukui nodded. "Of course."

"Good luck," Lillie said encouragingly.

"Knock 'em dead," Gladion said, grinning again. "Show that rival of yours just how powerful you are."

"Will do," I said. "Alola."

"Alola," Alex and Robert echoed.

The screen went dark and I stood up. Stepping back, I began releasing my Pokemon one-by-one. First Arcanine, recently healed, Riolu, Froakie, then my Alolan Pokemon. Decidueye's cloak fluttered around him, Lycanroc shook himself, Kabutops slammed his scythes together, and Mimi bobbed her "head" around. I wisely kept Gyarados tucked in his pokeball.

Their eyes went wide when they saw me and I was soon covered by them.

"Hey you guys," I said, laughing. "Great to see you all again."

As soon as they were done with their greeting, I stood. "Look, this is great and all, but we have a situation. Team Radiance."

They stood at attention and I heard Grant whistle in appreciation.

"So," I raised a fist. "Who's ready to kick their butts again!?"

They cheered and I thought, _"Here we come, Team Radiance. I'll show you what we can do, Eve."_

...

We made our way down Route 7 towards Connecting Cave. Clara had changed back into her goth outfit, Viola and Grant just behind her. Alex and Robert walked on either side of me as the sun sunk lower in the sky. Then the cave came into view and so did Team Radiance. Eve was there, grinning.

I clenched my hand around Decidueye's pokeball. _"Bring it on."_

**Team Radiance is back, so why not bring back Zeno's old Alolan team? Next chapter will be primarily be about the battle between Zeno and Eve. Look forward to it. However, I will be working on TMR before then and maybe a chapter of Pokemon Dark (how 'bout we call it PD for short). I know some of you immensely enjoyed it, so I'll be working on it soon. Little warning, it will be horror. Not that the warning really matters. It ain't called Pokemon Dark for a reason. So, look forward to the updates. Toodles **


	17. Chapter 16: Daughter of Cassandra

"Sucker Punch!"

Decidueye slammed his wing into Golduck's face, who was trapped beneath the Grass Ghost type.

Eve returned Golduck, eyes narrowed. "So it seems you want to reenact your battle with my mother."

She unclipped another pokeball from her waist. "You know, I was there. When you battled her beneath Ten Carat Hill."

Her eyes shook slightly. "I watched as she was crushed by falling debris, unable to save her."

Her gaze steadied. "She could've lived if you hadn't beaten her, Zeno. So, this time, I will win for her!"

She threw out Volcarona, who flapped her wings, the wind warmer now. "Use Heat Wave!"

Volcarona flapped her wings harder now, waves of heat cascading towards Decidueye.

"Let's see if we've lost our touch or not," I said grinning. "Phantom Force!"

Decidueye sank into the shadows, avoiding the attack.

"Double Team!" I shouted and a dozen Decidueyes appeared from one place behind Volcarona. "Spirit Shackle!"

A dozen arrows were fired, which all sank into Volcarona's shadow, damaging her.

"Destroy them all with Hurricane!" Eve shouted.

Volcarona stirred up the wind into a powerful force of nature, blowing away all the copies and the real Decidueye. He landed on the ground, wincing.

"Don't give up now," I yelled. "Let's finish her quickly with the new move you learned while on the ranch!"

Decidueye gave a sharp cry and got into position, body bent, head forwards, wings outstretched, a harsh glow emanating from him.

"Don't let them!" Eve warned. "Fiery Dance!"

Volcarona twirled, embers scattered from her wings and shooting towards Decidueye. Upon contact, a tornado of fire erupted around the Grass type. When the flames died, Decidueye was still there, slightly charred, but still glowing.

"Now then," I shot out my hand. "Sky Attack!"

Decidueye gave a loud shriek and burst towards Volcarona, slamming into her middle. Wind streamed behind him upon impact, creating a small explosion as Volcarona shot backwards, slamming into a nearby tree, leaves falling to the ground.

Decidueye stood, dusting his feathers off as Eve returned Volcarona. I heard Riolu and Froakie cheering from behind and I smiled. This would be good experience for the two of them, to see my old team in action.

"Return Decidueye," I said, calling him back into his pokeball. "You did well."

"What's the meaning of this!?" Eve asked angrily.

I smirked. "Look, he already beat two of your Pokemon quite easily. If you insist on continuing this futile battle, I feel like giving my other Pokemon some attention."

Hey right eye twitched, but she calmed down. "My intention isn't to beat you, Zeno, despite what I said earlier. We are only here because I want to know your strength, why my mother lost and died by your hand."

Her eyes narrowed. "I fully expect you to get in my way like you did in Alola, but that is an undetermined future."

"So you just want to battle as normal trainers then," I raised an eyebrow.

She nodded and I asked, "Then why kidnap those Pokemon?"

She gave a sideways glance at Vivillon, Tyrunt, and Heliolisk in the cage behind her. "Insurance. I had no way of knowing if you would battle me like this because of my background."

She held out her hands. "I assure you Zeno, Team Radiance isn't going to be causing this region any trouble."

"And why don't I believe that?" I asked dubiously.

She sighed. "Believe what you will. But your true enemies lie in the shadows, waiting for their opportunity to strike."

Not giving me the chance to question her further, she pointed her finger at me. "Now, let us continue this battle."

I chuckled, grinning. "Alright then, Eve. Let us battle, not as enemies, but as trainers. But only this once."

I flipped a pokeball into the air, releasing Lycanroc, who shook his body. "Accelerock!"

He growled and sped forwards.

"Earthquake!" Eve shouted and Aurorus began stomping on the earth, cracks spreading along the ground.

Lycanroc leaped over the rising ground, slamming into Aurorus.

"Freeze Dry!" Eve yelled.

The spot where Lycanroc made contact burst with a cloud of mist and ice, trapping Lycanroc in ice. As he fell, the ice shattered explosively as he was thrown across the shaking earth.

"Nature Power!"

Aurorus launched an Energy Ball, sending Lycanroc crashing to my side. He got up, snarling.

"You won't be able to last much longer," I warned. "You wanna keep going?"

He barked and padded forwards, glaring at Aurorus.

"Alrighty then," I threw out my hand. "Accelerock one more time!"

"Keep it coming!" Eve shouted. "Earthquake!"

I smirked. "Change gears! Rock Climb!"

Lycanroc howled, claws extending as he ran across the moving, broken earth. Launching himself into the air, he came down slashing along Aurorus' side, knocking her off balance.

"Aurora Beam!" Eve yelled and the beam went wild as the Ice type came crashing down.

"While she's down," I raised my hand. "Stone Edge!"

Sharp stones appeared around the Rock type and were sent flying into Aurorus, making her cry out in pain.

"Keep him at bay with Blizzard!" Eve commanded.

The air around Aurorus became frigid, before a storm of ice and snow blasted from beneath Aurorus, slamming Lycanroc away. The Ice type got to her feet as Eve shouted, "Hyper Beam!"

Aurorus tilted her head back slightly before unleashing a beam of energy, pushing Lycanroc further into the ground where he lay. When the dust cleared, he had fainted in a crater.

I returned him and tucked his ball away. "Don't feel too bad. We can't win against every Pokemon."

I grabbed my third pokeball. "Now we're back on equal footing with her. Not for long. Let's go, fossil against beast!"

With a mighty roar, Gyarados appeared on the battlefield, glaring at me.

"Hey now," I said, holding up both of my hands. "Look, we have Team Radiance present, so let's get along now shall we?"

He came closer, staring into my eyes, before turning to face Aurorus.

"There we go," I nodded. "Now then, let's give them a taste of their own medicine. Hyper Beam!"

Gyarados reared back his head and unleashed a more powerful beam of energy, making Aurorus slide backwards, before falling down on the ground with a loud THUMP!

Eve just smiled and returned Aurorus, before sending out Tsareena. "Teeter Dance!"

Tsareena twirled around confusingly and Gyarados began shaking his head, eyes unfocused.

"Oh no," I backed up about five feet. "Not good. Gyarados, can you hear me!?"

His head swiveled from right to left, before he began charging up another Hyper Beam.

"Now's our chance," Eve grinned maniacally. "Use Leaf Storm to get above him!"

Leaves began swirling around Tsareena's feet and she shot upwards, avoiding the Hyper Beam.

"Razor Leaf!" Eve shouted. "Follow up with Trop Kick!"

Tsareena blasted Gyarados with sharp leaves from above, before descending right foot first, slamming it into the side of his head.

"Use Bounce!" Eve commanded as I grimaced. At this point, while he was still confused, I wouldn't be able to get through to him. I would just have to hope he would snap out of the confusion.

Tsareena bounced off his head as Eve yelled, "Power Whip!"

A long grass whip grew out from Tsareena's right hand as she snapped it around Gyarados' body. While still in the air, she swung the glowing vine upwards, then down, slamming Gyarados onto the earth, forming a crater.

"Trop Kick!" Eve shouted.

It was now or never.

"C'mon Gyarados!" I yelled. "You can do this! Ice Fang!"

Gyarados shook his head as Tsareena descended upon him, his eyes focusing with rage. Frost began flowing from his mouth as he surged upwards and around Tsareena, biting into her side. She cried out in pain as ice spread along her body and Gyarados' mouth began lighting up.

"That's it!" I shouted in glee. "Now use Hyper Beam!"

Tsareena's eyes went wide, matching her trainer's, before she was blasted from Gyarados' mouth and sent slamming into the earth, fainted.

"Come on back Gyarados," I said, returning him as Eve returned her Grass type.

We both sent out our next Pokemon. Mine being Mimi the Mimikyu, and Eve's being Malamar.

"Saving Florges for last huh," I remarked.

"Something like that," Eve smirked. "Malamar, use Psycho Cut!"

He swung one of his tentacle arms, a blade of psychic energy crashing into Mimi, causing her doll head to flop down.

"Don't be discouraged," I said. "Shadow Sneak!"

Mimi sank into the ground, becoming a shadow. She zoomed behind Malamar before launching herself up and slashing at Malamar.

"Night Slash!" Eve yelled.

A dark, fierce wind swirled around Malamar and he directed it into Mimi, sending her tumbling on the ground.

"Wood Hammer!" I shouted.

Mimi launched herself back up, using her green glowing 'tail' to stop herself. She then launched herself forwards, aiming for Malamar's head.

"Pluck!"

Malamar's beak glowed blue and he bit onto Mimi's 'tail', wincing in pain, before swinging Mimi into the air.

"Now use Signal Beam!" Eve ordered.

"Break through it with Drain Punch!" I shouted.

A shadowy hand emerged from beneath Mimi's Pikachu costume, curling into a green glowing fist. She fell towards Malamar as he fired the beam of energy at her from his beak. The Drain Punch deflected the beam attack, smashing into Malamar's face.

Mimi landed on the ground as Malamar fell on his back, so I yelled, "Shadow Claw!"

Another shadowy hand emerged and both grew larger and sharper. She sliced Malamar up into the air, before slashing downwards. As Malamar's body bounced off the surface of the earth, sparks of electricity ran across his glowing body.

"Thunderbolt!" Eve yelled.

Malamar wrapped a tentacle around Mimi, zapping her with a bolt of electricity.

"Two can play at that game!" I shouted. "Use Thunderbolt as well!"

Mimi's eyes gleamed red as she absorbed the electricity, before zapping Malamar with his own power, shocking him into fainting.

Sighing, Eve returned Malamar. "Oh well. I was hoping I could beat you without pulling out my trump card."

Her eyes gleamed. "It seems I have no choice."

"Mimi," I said cautiously. "Be ready for anything."

Eve held up an Ultra Ball. "Florges was my mother's signature Pokemon, the one closest to her. It wouldn't be right for me to use her. But, I have my own partner to help me out."

Her grip tightened. "I had said I was there when my mother was crushed. Hadn't you wondered I how I survived that."

I didn't like where this was going. "How did you survive?"

"Simple," she smirked. "He saved me."

She clicked the button on the Ultra Ball, the ball opening, but nothing came out. The only thing inside it was a blinking red light.

Suddenly, the sky, which had already descended into dusk, darkened even further as huge storm clouds formed above. With a loud thunderclap, a bolt of lightning struck the ground ten feet in front of Eve, a cloud of dust drifting into the air. A figure rose onto his hind legs, paws sparking with electricity. Electric blue eyes gleamed as stray blue sparks zipped off his body.

"Meet Zeraora," Eve held out her arms. "The Mythical Thunderclap Pokemon."

"Mythical," I breathed, realizing the situation I was now in as I heard gasps from behind me.

My mouth tightening into a thin line, I said, "Let's do our best. Shadow Claw!"

Mimi lunged for Zeraora as Eve said, "Use Plasma Fists."

I blinked and Zeraora was gone, only to reappear in front of Mimi in just half a second, punching her with a blue electricity enhanced fist. She was blown backwards, landing at my feet fainted.

I returned her, shocked by the Pokemon's speed and power. At this point, I couldn't back out. Decidueye and Gyarados were already damaged, and Kabutops was a Water type.

"Only one choice then," I held up a pokeball. "Arcanine, I choose you!"

He appeared on the battlefield and I had a feeling even with his strength, he wouldn't be able to match up against a Mythical Pokemon.

"Extreme Speed!" I shouted.

Arcanine burst towards Zeraora, becoming a blur. However, he was knocked up in the air by the Electric type, who had appeared beneath him on his back, fists pointed up. He leaped to his feet and jumped up and above Arcanine.

"Discharge!" Eve yelled.

Zeraora let out a roar, a sphere of electricity forming around him in the air, blasting Arcanine back onto the ground.

As Zeraora landed back on the ground, Arcanine laid where he had fallen for a few seconds before his legs twitched.

I raised my hand. "Extreme Speed!"

In a flash, Arcanine had gotten to his feet and slammed into Zeraora, who seemed not to have expected Arcanine to still be able to fight.

"Unexpected," Eve admitted. "But we'll still win."

"Yeah," I fished something out of my pocket and clasped it onto my left wrist. "You likely will. But we won't lose without a fight."

I clicked the red crystal onto the bracelet, energy connecting me and Arcanine. I uncrossed my arms in front of me, recrossing them, fists pointed towards Arcanine. I billowed my hands upwards, then reached out with my left hand while reaching back with my right. My left hand closed itself on a fiery bow while my right drew a fiery arrow. Arcanine crouched, before running full tilt for Zeraora, who's fists sparked with blue electricity.

I drew back the arrow on the bow, eyes narrowed, before letting go and shouting, "INCINERAZING ARROW!"

The arrow struck Arcanine on the flank, flames erupting around him, forming into an arrow shape. He blazed towards the Mythical Pokemon, who lunged forwards, holding out his electrified paws. The flaming arrow slammed into Zeraora, who managed to slow the Z-move down. The Electric type's face turned into a snarl, before morphing into a wide grin.

I could feel Arcanine in the Z-move, pushing with all his might against Zeraora's strength. Bursts of fire and electricity occurred at the point where the two met, each one not giving the other an inch.

"ZERAORA!" Eve shouted.

"ARCANINE!" I roared.

Both Pokemon pushed with renewed energy, but it was Zeraora who made the first slip. His back paws slid backwards against the ground, pushing up the dirt around them. I had to shield my eyes as the red and yellow lights from the two became almost blinding. Then, with a burst of speed and power, Arcanine surged forwards as Zeraora's arms gave out. Arcanine slammed into him, an explosion of fire and electricity lighting up the sky. When the cloud of smoke cleared, Arcanine stood, breathing heavily, Zeraora nowhere in sight, only a blue lightning bolt zigzagging its way back up into the thunderclouds, which then disappeared.

Eve just shook her head, smiling. "So this is the power of the Hero Born of Darkness."

I walked up to stand next to Arcanine, feet from Cassandra's daughter. "I'm not him anymore. I'm just Zeno."

Eve laughed, and for a moment, I saw Cassandra in her place. "Alright then, Zeno. But, don't let that stop you from being a hero for this region."

"You mentioned something like that before," I said. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head. "Not something I could tell. It's more of a feeling. Trust me on that."

I raised an eyebrow. "What is your endgame, Eve?"

She waved her hand. "You'll figure it out. It isn't something region threatening, much less world threatening."

She raised her hand and Kamake pressed a button on her suit's sleeve. "As promised, the Pokemon will be returned. Thank you for this battle, Zeno."

I nodded as the three captured Pokemon made their way back to their trainers. "Look, if I could have saved Cassandra, I-"

She held up her hand to stop me. "That doesn't matter anymore. Farewell, Zeno."

She walked past me, her grunts following her. Kamake put a hand on my shoulder. "Next time we meet, let us battle."

I sighed. "Seems like everyone wants to do that with me."

Kamake gave a small smile. "If it's any consolation, working for Eve is much better than working for her mother."

With that, she followed Team Radiance. When they had all disappeared down Route 7, I went over to my friends, Clara, and the two gym leaders after returning Arcanine.

Froakie leaped onto my shoulder. "Froak Froak Froakie!"

I laughed and rubbed his head as Riolu punched my leg softly.

"What did she say?" Alex asked.

My mouth twisted into a grimace. "We don't have to worry about her, for now at least. But, there are others out there. I don't know who or what they're planning, but it isn't good."

Robert sighed and ran his hand through his short blonde hair. "So, the usual then."

Grant laughed. "Sounds like it'll be a tough road for you three. I would object to you three dealing with shady people like Eve, but Zeno's strength proved to me that you're capable. I look forward to your gym battle. Meet me in Cyllage City and we'll have some fun."

He waved us goodbye as he entered the cave up ahead.

Viola sighed, smiling. "He's always like that. Once he sees a wall that looks promising, he can't wait to climb it."

She looked at the four of us in turn. "Good luck on your journeys, all of you. If trouble arises, don't hesitate to call on us gym leaders. It's part of our duty to protect Kalos."

She looked at Clara now. "I have a feeling you won't be coming back to the Chateau. Remember, having fun isn't always a bad thing."

With that, she began walking back in the direction of the Battle Chateau.

Clara sighed, then glared at me. "Zeno."

"Yes?" I asked hesitantly.

She looked like she was struggling for a moment, before saying, "Let me join you three on your journey."

Both Alex and Robert's eyes widened, but I asked, "Why?"

She gripped a fist. "I want to know how you were able to get your Pokemon to be that powerful. Show me. Please."

I stood there, staring at her for several seconds, before deciding. "Alright then."

I held out my hand. "Welcome to our team, Clara Acord."

**Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Been busy with things. Anyway, I might only be able to get another two chapters of this before school starts for me, so be aware of that. Till the next update. Toodles**


	18. Chapter 17: A Team with a Flare

"Oh come on," Alex whined, trying to coax some food to Absol. "You need to eat."

Absol swung her head away from Alex, ignoring the pokefood in her hands.

Clara laughed. "Oh, that's rich. I don't think she likes you much."

Alex glared at her and turned her back on her.

"Here," Clara said, swiping some pokefood from Robert's hands. "I'll give it a go."

She went straight up to Absol and held out the food. "Here you go."

Absol swiped her hand away, scattering the pellets.

Clara's eye twitched. "All right then mutt! You're asking for it!"

She grabbed a pokeball from her waist and held it up, only for Alex to grab her wrist, glaring at her. "Don't even think about it Acord."

Robert sighed and glanced over at me as he filled a bowl of water. "Was bringing her along such a great idea?"

"I don't know anymore," I groaned. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I'm not so sure."

"I can hear you!" Clara snapped, yanking her hand free from Alex's grip, who resumed trying to feed Absol.

Clara jabbed a finger at me. "And when will you battle me!? That's the whole reason I'm travelling with you!"

"Yeah yeah," I got up from my spot on the stone ground, stretching. "You want to battle my old team, right?"

She nodded. "Of course."

"Maybe later," I said, grabbing some pokefood from Robert. "It's getting late anyway."

I filled up three bowls and walked over to where Arcanine, Froakie, and Riolu were resting. I set them down and they began digging in.

I held out my hand to Robert. "Have anymore bowls?"

He nodded and dug out five more bowls from his backpack and filled them up for me. I set them down in a circle. Then I let out my Alolan team, Decidueye, Lycanroc, Gyarados, Kabutops, and Mimi.

I listened to them eat as I stared around the cavern. We had headed into Connecting Cave and were setting up for the night when an injured Absol stumbled upon our group. Robert had tended to her injured leg and Alex tried to give her food, but that seemed to be an issue at the moment.

Alex finally sighed, leaving the food near Absol. "You win. Just make sure to eat."

She got some pokefood from Robert and began feeding her Ninetales, Litleo, Flabebe, and Combee. Clara ignored Robert's offer of pokefood and dug out her own. She let out her three Pokemon, Barbaracle, Scizor, and Heliolisk.

I sat down again, leaning against a smooth part of the stone wall. That battle with Eve earlier had left me drained. That Mythical, Zeraora, was a surprise for sure. I don't even know if I actually beat it. I looked at the Z-ring on my wrist and took it off, slipping it into my backpack. I don't know why, but it didn't feel right to use that here in Kalos.

Then I thought about the battle against Eve as a whole. It was much easier than battling Cassandra, despite Eve using the same Pokemon her mother owned.

"I guess the trainer really does make the Pokemon," I muttered to myself.

...

The next morning Clara forced me into a Pokemon battle before breakfast.

"We all battled in the Alolan League and he made it to the final match-up," Alex said, once again trying to get the Absol to eat. "Don't blame us if you lose quickly."

"Shut up," Clara growled, leading with Heliolisk. "Bring it on, Zeno."

I let Kabutops go first since he didn't get to do anything yesterday against Eve. "Alright then, let's show her how we did it in Alola."

Clara smirked. "A Water type? You do realize Heliolisk is an Electric type, right?"

I shrugged. "Looks like I have to show you type advantage doesn't mean everything. Kabutops, let's take the first move! Aqua Jet!"

Kabutops shot forwards, enveloped in a stream of water.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Clara shouted.

Heliolisk flared his frills and a bolt of electricity shot towards Kabutops.

"Up!" I shouted and Kabutops turned upwards sharply. The water faded from him as his feet touched the ceiling.

"Go!" I shouted and he launched himself towards Heliolisk. "Night Slash!"

Kabutops crossed his scythes and a dark wind swirled around them as he collided with Heliolisk and bounced away from him.

"Parabolic Charge!" Clara shouted and Heliolisk unleashed energy in all directions.

"Use Stone Edge to block!" I commanded and Kabutops slammed a scythe into the ground. Huge stones erupted from the cave floor, blocking Kabutops from the blasts of electricity.

"Aqua Jet!" I shouted and Kabutops flew over the rocks and zoomed towards Heliolisk, giving him to time to dodge as the Rock type slammed into him.

"I got you now!" Clara shouted with glee. "Thunderbolt!"

I smirked. "Sand Attack!"

Kabutops landed on the ground and swiftly swung sand into Heliolisk's eyes, making the Thunderbolt shoot upwards as the Electric type clawed at his eyes.

"Now finish with Earth Power!" I commanded.

He slammed his scythe into the ground and the area beneath Heliolisk erupted with fire and rocks. He fell forwards, fainted.

"Wha-!?" Clara looked shocked as Alex grinned from where Absol was staring intently at the now finished battle. "Told ya you would lose quickly."

Clara glared at her, then at me. "Fine. I accept my loss. Next time though, I will win, no matter what Pokemon you use."

"We're done already?" I was surprised. I had thought she would go on until all her Pokemon fainted.

"Yes," Clara said stiffly, grabbing a plate from Robert.

Robert stared at his hands. "Why is everyone grabbing things from me lately?"

"Don't think about it," I said, grabbing a plate from him. "When are we leaving?"

"As soon as we're all done eating," he replied. "Alex, what do you plan on doing about Absol?"

"Well we just can't leave her," She said, rubbing Absol's head, who looked annoyed. "Her front leg's still injured."

"Do you have any pokeballs?" I asked, swallowing my food, while giving some pokefood to Froakie who had gotten onto my shoulder.

She shook her head. "Forgot to buy some in the last town."

Robert tossed her a pokeball. "Here. I don't need someone swiping that out of my hands."

"Thanks," Alex turned to Absol. "It doesn't have to be permanent, but you'll need to go in here for a bit. We can give you to Nurse Joy when we get to the next town, alright?"

Absol growled at the pokeball, so Alex tossed it to her other hand and tapped Absol on the back with it. It rolled a couple times before flashing green.

"Lucky she was too injured to break free," I set my plate down near Robert. "Else this might've taken forever."

"Yeah," Alex latched the ball to her waist. "Let's get going."

We wandered through the cave for a bit before we found the exit. Once out in the sunlight, the cool ocean breeze hit us. Froakie made a sound like a content sigh as he stared at the blue sea.

"Ah," Robert held out his arms. "That hits the spot."

We were on a cliff overlooking the vast ocean, a sandy beach below us.

Clara pointed south. "There's Ambrette Town."

I looked and saw that just down a downhill path was a small town, with not a whole lot of houses, but it also had a few huge buildings, one that even led down to the beach.

Then we heard a beeping noise.

"I got it," Robert said, pulling out the Holo Caster, which had a blinking green light. Robert pressed a small button and a message floated up.

"It's a message," Robert said, squinting. "From Diantha."

"Diantha!?" Clara choked. "Why would she message you!?"

"We met her back in Lumiose," I said, then asked, "What did she write?"

"She says there's suspicious activity near the Glittering Cave," he said. "She wants us to investigate."

"Where's that?" Alex wondered.

I shrugged. "Don't know. But how did she even get our number?"

"Maybe from Sycamore," Robert suggested. "I don't know. But she did mention there had been trouble on the coast recently."

Clara glanced between us three, before sighing, irritated. "Look, why Diantha is asking you three for a favor is beyond me. But, the Glittering Cave isn't far. It's just past the town at the end of Route 9."

"That might take a while," I said, worried.

"I know a faster route," Clara said "But you're all gonna have to owe me."

"You can't just tell us out of the kindness of your heart can you?" Alex asked rudely.

"Nope," Clara said and she looked perfectly fine with her response.

"Fine," I said. "I'll owe you. Lead the way."

Clara grinned. "Follow me."

She led us down the path for about 50 feet before she turned left down a rockier trail leading upwards.

"This should honestly be a route," Clara said as we continued to go up. "But I think I'm one of the only people who know about this path."

"How do you know about it?" I asked, making sure I didn't skid on any loose pebbles as Froakie clung to my neck.

"I lived in this area for a bit of time," Clara responded. "I did some of my own exploring."

I waited for her to go on, but she didn't continue. I had a feeling she wasn't talking because she didn't want to.

After ten minutes, we had reached the top of the mountain, the ground mostly flat now.

"Mainly a straight path now," Clara said, wiping her forehead.

"Hey! What are you four doing up here!?"

A guy in a white lab coat hurried towards us, medium length blonde hair blowing in the wind. "You shouldn't be up here."

Behind him we could see other scientists working with huge machines, one which looked big enough to hold a Pokemon.

"What are you doing?" Robert asked, peering at all the machinery.

"None of your business," the scientist snapped. "Children such as yourselves shouldn't be up here. This is delicate equipment. Not a place for trainers."

Clara snorted, getting in the man's personal space. "On who's authority says we can't pass through here, huh? Tell me."

The man scowled. "You don't need to know. Now get out of here. Don't make me do it myself."

"Dr. Grant," someone yelled from behind him. "We need your help over here..."

He turned and we looked to see a woman with green hair walking towards us, wearing a red suit and shorts with a green tie. She wore red gloves as well as knee-high red boots, all her clothes lined with white. Her eyes were covered by a wide green screen with lines of codes running across it. On her lower stomach there was a sort of flame emblem connected to her belt, which also happened to be red.

"Who are they?" She asked and I noticed she had green lipstick to match her hair and tie.

"Trainers who should mind their own business," Grant said hurriedly, waving his hands. "I'm getting rid of them now."

"Like hell you are," Clara snapped.

"Agreed," I said, eyeing both the scientist and the woman as Froakie stiffened on my shoulder. "Besides, this seems way to suspicious now. Who are you people?"

"Looks like I ha-" Grant was halfway to pulling a pokeball out of his lab coat, but the woman put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. "Let me handle them."

She stepped in front of us, hands on her hips. "So I take it you four are trainers wanting to through this way."

I shared looks with my companions, then back at the woman. "Yeah, what of it?"

She smiled. "Good. You can pass right on through here wherever you're going to go."

Alex came to stand next to me, hand resting on her pokeball. "I think we're fine with where we're at."

Robert nodded, arms crossed. "You two wouldn't happen to be part of the disturbance we heard about in this area would you?"

Grant made a _tch_ sound, looking annoyed while the green-haired woman smile. "Then it seems you four stumbled onto something you shouldn't have been looking for."

She stepped backwards, and Grant stumbled to avoid her backing up into him, as she spread out her arms slightly. "This is one of Team Flare's top secret research operations. Outsiders must not be permitted and will be dealt with accordingly. I, Team Flare Scientist Bryony, will see to that."

She snapped her fingers and several men and women came forwards, all wearing red suits and pants with black ties. They held pokeballs in their black-gloved hands, their red hair designed to look like flames. Like the green-haired woman, they all had flame emblems on their belts. They got into their positions, the three men having their left arm held back with their pokeball, their right foot put forwards. The women stood straight and tall, right hand high over their heads while their left crossed their chests. Along with their matching everything, they all wore red shades over their eyes.

"Team Flare huh," Clara said, undaunted as she taunted them. "With those tacky suits you don't seem very intimidating."

"Question," Robert studied the grunts. "How long did it take you all to practice getting in formation."

One of the guys sighed. "Man, you have no idea. It's hell on its own."

"Silence," Bryony barked. "Grunts, get rid of them!"

They all nodded and let out their Pokemon. A Houndour, Zubat, Scraggy, Croagunk, Poochyena, and Gulpin.

I flicked out Riolu. "Water Pulse on Houndour, Froakie! Force Palm on the Pooch!"

"Dark Pulse!"

Both enemy Pokemon fired dark beams of energy and one hit Froakie's Water Pulse, while Riolu blasted the energy away with his glowing Palm. He slapped Poochyena's face, knocking the Dark type away.

I saw Scraggy slam his knee into the ground where Robert's Chespin had just been, only for the Grass type to Vine Whip him onto his back. Zubat sunk its fangs into Flabebe, but Litleo blasted him away with a small Ember. Meanwhile, Clara's Scizor had thrown Gulpin aside and was advancing on Croagunk, who's hand glowed a sickly purple.

"Cut," I said. "Bullet Punch!"

Froakie got behind Poochyena and sliced upwards, making the Dark type cry out in pain. Riolu blasted Houndour with rapid fists, then ended with a fast kick swung downwards on his head. Both Dark types were scampering backwards, so I decided it was time to finish them off.

"Water Pulse," I said and Froakie obliged, blasting a sphere of water at them, fainting both of them.

The grunts ended up having to return all their Pokemon, disbelief on their faces.

Clara crossed her arms smugly. "You gonna fight us too, Bryony?"

The Team Flare scientist snapper her fingers, the grunts backing off. "No, I don't get into the habit of battling trainers stronger than a group of grunts. But," She turned her head to look at Grant, who was back cowering near the machines. "Dr. Grant! Fire up the machine!"

He nodded quickly and pressed a few buttons, the huge container shaped one glowing, the fog clouding the inside of the glass. When it opened, a looming figure could be seen inside. A grunt hurried forwards and threw something that latched around the large Pokemon's neck. It glowed red and the huge creature roared, stepping outside of the container.

It lumbered on two large feet, small beady eyes glaring at us atop a huge maw. Its tiny arms were almost comical, but those claws looked mighty deadly.

Bryony stepped aside, pointing at our group. "Tyrantrum, deal with the intruders."

Tyrantrum roared, stomping its great feet, before lowering its head and charging.

"Scatter!" I yelled and I ran right with my Pokemon with Robert beside me, Alex having run to the left. Clara stayed right where she was.

"Scizor," she said. "Razor Wind."

The Steel type held back his right claw, wind gathering at the focal point. He swung as Tyrantrum was feet away, connecting with the fossil Pokemon's head. The wind died away, but Tyrantrum had stopped. He glared at Scizor before lifting his head and roaring.

Clara looked unamused. "Bullet Punch."

Scizor began punching Tyrantrum repeatedly, angering the Dragon type further. Meanwhile, Robert was looking up the Fossil's dex entry.

"Now?" I asked, grabbing Arcanine's pokeball. "At a time like this?"

"What?" he said innocently. "I need the data for Professor Juniper."

I sighed and let out the Fire type. "All right then buddy. See those machines with all the scientists over there? Wreck some havoc."

He growled and zoomed forwards, heat racing off of him, only for a Pokemon to slam into his side, skidding along the earth as Arcanine rolled away.

"You won't go any further," Bryony said, standing between us and the machines.

"Alex!" I yelled. "Take care of the machines!"

She gave a thumbs up from where she was at 20 feet away. Bryony let out a Liepard, who ran off to deal with Alex's Pokemon.

"Alright guys," I said as Arcanine padded up to my side, Froakie and Riolu in front of me. "Let's deal with her. Water Pulse, Force Palm, and Extreme Speed!"

Arcanine burst forwards, slamming into Bisharp, who was confused by a sphere of water hitting him in the face. Then Riolu was there, slamming his glowing palm straight into his face, the impact on the Steel type's metal sparking electricity.

Bisharp shook himself and blew Riolu away with Night Slash, leaping into the air to dodge Arcanine's Flamethrower. Froakie leaped into the air, slicing a dozen times in just a couple seconds with Cut, but Bisharp simply kicked the Water type away. He landed on the ground, blades glowing with dark energy.

I noticed Liepard was managing to keep Alex and her Pokemon at bay, but we needed those machines destroyed. I could tell they were trying to revive another fossil, which wouldn't be good for us.

"Don't worry," a voice said behind me. "For I am here!"

I groaned as Robert sent his Snorlax barreling into Bisharp, who was unable to dodge the large mass.

"Just," I sighed. "Just keep Bisharp busy. Arcanine, Heat Wave!"

Arcanine barked and turned to face the machines, which Bryony happened to be standing in the way of. Her lips parted slightly in surprise, before she began running out of the way. Arcanine roared and a wave of heat blasted into the machines, melting them into scrap metal as the scientists scattered in all directions.

Bisharp and Liepard disappeared into their pokeballs as Bryony ran down a path down the mountain and out of sight. I heard a loud _thump_ and turned to see Tyrantrum laying on his side, a small dust cloud floating into the air, fainted.

Clara wiped her hands. "That's done. I hope you all got your jobs finished."

Alex didn't make a remark to Clara this time, as she was too busy being happy with her newly evolved Floette.

"Good job you two," I said to Froakie and Riolu, returning the Fire type as Froakie leaped onto my shoulder. Arcanine padded forwards, nudging me with his huge face.

I laughed and rubbed his huge head. "Yeah, you did a good job too."

He growled in content as I returned him to his ball, tucking it away.

"What do we do with Tyrantrum here?" Robert asked, looking down at the huge Pokemon.

"I can handle him."

We turned to see a woman in a black trench and hat walking towards us as she took off her sunglasses, a Gardevoir at her side.

"Diantha," Alex said, shocked.

The Kalos Champion winked. "Shh. I'm in disguise."

"Anyway," she got serious as she bent down to examine the collar around Tyrantrum's neck. "This Team Flare seems to be the one causing the problems. I'll have to start making this public. We can't have a group like them moving around freely."

As Gardevoir tore apart the device with psychic energy, Clara asked, "Where were you this whole time?"

If Diantha heard the rudeness in the goth girl's tone, she didn't mention it. "Observing. I wanted to see for myself if you all could handle yourselves. I would have stepped in if needed."

She stood and put Tyrantrum into an Ultra Ball. "I'll take care of Tyrantrum here, don't worry. You four might want to continue on your journey. If you see anymore of Team Flare, deal with them if you can and report it to me."

She turned, then smiled at us. "Good work out here trainers. I can't wait to see what your futures hold."

She walked away down a trail, Gardevoir floating by her side.

"Hmph," Clara crossed her arms when Diantha left. "Could've just stopped all this in an instant. She is the Champion after all."

"She probably doesn't want Team Flare to know the Champion knows about them," Alex suggested.

"Anyway," I said, scratching Froakie under the chin. "Me and Froakie here want to get our second badge. So let's hurry up to Cyllage City."

As we headed down the path we had climbed up, I got the vague sense we were being watched. I scanned the area, but turned up with nothing but rocks and sky.

"Felt like that time when I was in Vaniville," I muttered, but turned to follow my friends, and Clara.

**Okay, maybe I'll get one more chapter up before school starts. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Team Flare's introduction. Till next time, which is hopefully in under a week. Toodles**


	19. Chapter 18: Blackout

"Why'd you drag us here again?" Alex complained as she tossed a rock against the glittering rock wall.

"Because," Robert grunted as he lifted a heavy rock. "I need a fossil."

"You're really trying to put meaning into catching them all aren't you?" Clara sat on a rock, looking bored.

"Not really," Robert said. "I just figured Professor Juniper might want fossil Pokemon that originated in Kalos. For research."

"Why are we the only ones doing the heavy lifting?" I asked, tossing a heavy rock to the side, scattering crystals that had fallen to the ground.

"Because you're the guys," Clara gave a wicked grin. "Us ladies shouldn't do the mens work."

"So feminism is only in effect when it's in your favor," Robert set the stone down, moving towards a mine cart filled with rocks and minerals.

"Figures," I said.

Clara shrugged. "I couldn't care less about all that stuff. Men are strong, women are strong. Each is more capable in one field than the other. If one doesn't want to follow that, fine by me. Life is life."

Alex snorted. "Your ideology is certainly sound."

"Fine with me," Clara leaned back against the rock wall, hands behind her head.

"Aha!" Robert exclaimed, tossing rocks and minerals out of the mine cart. He dug in deeper before producing a piece of fossilized foot. A claw and a half were clearly visible.

"Let's see," Robert began scrolling through his pokedex with one hand. "Not big enough to be a Tyrantrum's, so it's pre-evolution maybe? Yeah, there we go."

_"Tyrunt, the Royal Heir Pokemon and the pre-evolution of Tyrantrum. Its large jaw has incredible destructive power. Some theories suggest that its restored form is different from its form of long ago."_

"We done?" Clara got up. "We were supposed to do our gym battles before you dragged us here."

"You didn't have to come along," Robert said, tucking the fossil under his left arm. "I'd like to stop by the Pokemon Center first though. Sending this to Professor Juniper shouldn't take too long."

"I actually should return my Pokemon back to Kukui," I said, tapping a pokeball on my waist.

"Why?" Clara looked at me, confused. "Your Pokemon from Alola are so much stronger than the ones you currently have."

I went over to where Froakie was sleeping next to Alex and picked him up, his large eyes opening sleepily. "Yeah, they are. But we journeyed together in Alola, deepening our bonds. But now that I'm here in Kalos, I'm able to develop more bonds with new Pokemon. I don't want to sideline my Pokemon just because they aren't as strong as the others."

Clara rolled her eyes. "To each their own."

"C'mon troop!" Robert placed a foot on a rock, pointing down the tunnel. "Let's move out!"

...

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU CALLED WHEN I WAS GONE!"

"Nice to see you too Hau," I said, putting a fist to the screen.

The dark skinned teen sighed and placed his fist where mine was, smiling like only he could. "It's been six months. Great to see you man."

"Heh," I rubbed the back of my head. "Same."

"Hey," I said, remembering something. "Gladion mentioned something about stray Ultra Beasts the other day. Any information?"

"None that aren't classified," Hau frowned, shoving his hands into his short pockets. During the six months since we last saw each other, Hau changed his appearance. He still wore his black tee, but now his shorts were white, longer, and baggier. He wore a flora patterned coat like Hala's, but Hau's was orange instead of yellow.

"But," Hau grinned. "Since it's you, I'm sure it'll be fine."

He put his hands behind his head, looking behind him to make sure no one was there. "Well, seems like there are a few stray Ultra Beasts. They like to stay hidden though as far as I can tell. One hiding in the Lush Jungle, one in a secret cave inside the Vast Poni Canyon, and two underwater around Ula'ula. It's been a fun challenge trying to deal with them."

"Need any help?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

"Nah," Hau waved his hand. "Me and my team are good. I am the Champion of Alola and all."

"How's that going?" I wondered.

"Not so bad," Hau scratched his nose. "I get challengers now and then, none can beat me though. And Kukui and I are working on getting the league set up again soon. Then Alola can see some of its best trainers in action. The lucky winner will be able to battle me on live television! No having to go through that grueling process of battling the Elite 4 that way."

"That's different," I remarked. "Usually trainers have to have a recommendation to challenge the Elite 4. That tends to involve a lot of money. That or win the league and go onto the Elite 4."

"Yeah," Hau grinned proudly. "Alola likes to do things differently."

"However," Hau grimaced. "Now I have a lot of fans. Especially fan girls."

I snickered. "Oh, Lillie must enjoy that."

Hau looked frightened. "Last time one got near me, I was afraid Lillie might take the passing trainer's Aegislash to smite me."

I burst out laughing and I had to wipe away a tear. "Well, have fun with that."

Hau shuddered. "Anyway, back to the topic of the Ultra Beasts. We're pretty sure these aren't ones that managed to stay behind from Lusamine's purge."

"New arrivals then?" I asked.

He nodded. "Seems like it. I'm working with Aether to find where they might be coming from. Who knows, it might lead us to wherever Lusamine ended up."

My eyes widened. "Woah. What do Lillie and Gladion think of that?"

"They're not holding their breaths," Hau sighed. "Between you and me, I think they're secretly hoping we're able to find her. Which is why I'll explore the worlds beyond ours for them. I'll do what I can to find their mother for them."

"Keep me updated on that will you?" I asked him. "And if you ever need my help, just call."

He nodded. "The same goes to you. I heard about Team Radiance."

I shook my head. "They're not the issue, but I think this Team Flare might be."

Hau opened his mouth to say something, but a beeping on his wrist distracted him. He held up his right hand to a watch and appeared to read a message off of it.

"Hey," Hau said, turning back to me. "Gotta go. Apparently there's an update at Aether. Keep in touch alright."

I nodded, ending the call. I made my way to the PMC lobby where I only saw Robert and Froakie. There were a couple other trainers milling about, but they didn't seem to pay any attention to us as they looked bored.

"Done with your call?" I asked as Froakie leaped onto my right shoulder. I ushered him to my left side, not wanting him to always be on my right.

He nodded. "The Professor sure was surprised. She even offered me a raise."

"That's good," I looked around. "Where are, ah, never mind. I can hear them."

Robert nodded and we both looked towards the backdoor where Alex and Clara were battling with their Pokemon.

"It's like when she and Hau first met," I groaned. "Butted heads in an instant."

"Yeah," Robert turned on his Holo Caster. "But Hau wasn't like Clara. Not by a long shot."

"I agree," I said.

"Why is she travelling with us?" Robert asked.

I saw Ninetales spew a jet of flames as Scizor flew overhead. "For one thing, if she travels with us, it'll be easier to keep her from being a miscreant. On a different note, maybe if she stays with us for a while, she'll become a better person."

"For being a former Team Rocket member," Robert swiped the hologram screen. "You really try to see the best in others."

"I have to," I said. "If I don't, then how can I see the good parts of myself?"

Robert didn't answer. He might've, but the lights went out. In fact, the whole Pokemon Center went out. I saw Nurse Joy frown and enter through a door into a back room.

"What's going on?" Alex asked, rushing in through the door, clipping a pokeball to her waist, Clara following her. Without any light, they looked almost like shadows.

"I don't know," I said, walking outside. It was night out and everything was dark. The streetlights were out and no lights were on in any windows in any of the houses.

"Seems like the power in the whole city went out," Nurse Joy said, returning to her post. "Any trainers who left their Pokemon with me will have to be patient."

"What about the backup generator," a guy asked, his short dark hair barely visible in the darkness.

Nurse Joy shook her head. "For some reason it isn't working. It's quite odd."

"At least us trainers can try to help," a young teen let out her Electabuzz. "Maybe with an Electric type we can get the generator going."

Nurse Joy smiled. "That would be great. Please, follow me."

"In the meantime," the guy with the short hair let out a Lampent. "Will-O-Wisp please."

Lampent spun, small ghostly embers floating around her.

The guy grinned, his brown hair ending in short bangs. "Great. Now we have light."

All the trainers gathered in a circle with Lampent in the middle, happy with all the attention. Froakie reached out with a hand, wanting to touch the ghostly flames, but I managed to stop him before he got burned.

Including Alex, Robert, Clara, and I, there were eight trainers total. Nine, since the girl was helping Nurse Joy.

The guy with the Lampent sat across from me, brown eyes on the dancing flames. The guy next to him was a punk, complete with spiky pink hair, the sleeves to his leather jacket ripped off. The blonde-haired girl next to him was eyeing him warily, her Bunnelby in her lap. The last kid was a young boy with short black hair, probably not even a teen yet. An Inkay floated around him, bobbing up and down at random.

"Hey," the brown haired teen said. "You guys ever hear of the Ghost of the Coast story?"

We all shook our heads, aside from Clara.

"'Course you've heard of it," Alex said under her breath.

The guy rubbed his hands together. "Good. Story time folks. My name is Bradley, I'll be your speaker today."

"On a night as dark as this one," he breathed, balancing a ghostly ember on above his palm, watching it flicker. "A young girl, a trainer and her Lunatone were walking along the beach at night. She felt safe, because who wouldn't with their Pokemon around? Anyway, she never returned home from that late night stroll, so people began to look for her. They never found her or her Lunatone. Only an imprint in the sand of a body and her Lunatone was found, but that was soon washed away."

"Many claim they know what happened to her," Bradley said mysteriously. "Some say she was carried away by the waves. Others say she was kidnapped. And still, some claim, her Lunatone was responsible."

"Now this," he wagged his fingers. "Is where it gets interesting. Her family claimed to have noticed an odd behavior in their daughter's Lunatone weeks before the incident. He would begin to glow at odd times during the night, a soft white light, emitting a low, forlorn cry. That's why there is more probability that her disappearance had to do with her Lunatone. Some even swore they saw a white light on that beach, outlining a girl, before completely disappearing. They say her Lunatone vaporized her and itself, leaving only an imprint of them in the sand."

The little boy looked shook as the punk guy tried to act cool by sneering. The blonde girl seemed to be visibly shaken as well, Alex too. Robert was looking through his Holo Caster, but there was no signal for it. Clara seemed to be unfazed, as was I.

I stood. "It's been a while. I'm going to check on the other two in the back room."

"I'll go with you," Clara offered, which was weird.

Once we were on the other side of the door, Clara closed it almost all the way. We were standing in a short hallway, three doors in total. One in front and one on either side.

"Zeno," Clara grabbed my shoulder, eyes darting to the door we just entered through. "There's something off about him."

I nodded. "You felt it too then?"

She nodded, then her eyes drifted to the door to out right. "Zeno, I don't hear anyone in there, do you?"

I looked. The door was slightly ajar, but there were no sounds beyond it. I returned Froakie to his pokeball and opened the door slowly. Like everywhere else at the moment, it was pitch dark inside. I heard a click behind me, then a small light lit up the area partially around us. I turned to see Clara holding a lighter. She nodded at me and I turned back around. She raised the light, allowing us to see a splatter of blood on the floor.

I drew my knife from my side, holding it close to my person. I stepped in slowly, avoiding the racks on either side containing boxes. Slowly, I peeked around a rack and almost wished I hadn't. I held up a hand to stop Clara and withdrew. There was only one person dead and it wasn't the trainer. Judging by the size of the room, no other people could be in here.

"Joy's dead," I whispered and Clara's eyes widened, pushing past me. She stopped when she saw the body, a stab wound to the neck and belly.

"We need to get back to the others," Clara whispered, but I was already ahead of her, making my way past the racks and back into the small hallway. I burst through the door to find nothing but darkness beyond. If Lampent was still there, its flames had gone out.

As Clara came up to my side, a small ghostly fire lit up. It belonged to Lampent, the center of its body glowing slightly. Standing behind her was someone in a long purple cloak, the hood up over the head, keeping the face hidden in shadows.

"Who are you!?" I demanded. "Where is everyone else!?"

They said nothing, seeming to glide backwards as Lampent's light went out, leaving us in darkness once more.

"Heliolisk," Clara sent out her Pokemon. "Parabolic Charge!"

Electricity sparked off the floor and ceiling, lighting up the lobby, but there was no sign of anyone. Then I saw a flicker of movement outside in the darkness.

"C'mon," I said, running through the doors, letting out Arcanine.

"Where'd he go!?" Clara yelled, looking around wildly.

"There!" I pointed ahead to someone entering a building.

"The Aquarium," Clara said, taking off at a run, returning Heliolisk. I ran after her, Arcanine running between us. We ran into the dark building, the faint sound of water bubbling from tanks.

Clara let our her Heliolisk again. "Parabolic Charge!"

The Aquarium lit up, revealing ghostly images of Water type Pokemon in their tanks. I noticed a staircase leading down to the beach, which appeared to be the only other place to go. I ran down to where the sand started to see footprints.

Clara and I ran with Arcanine behind us, Heliolisk perched atop him. The prints led us beneath to the side of the cliff, close to the rock formation that stood tall over us. The footprints ended at a huge stone boulder laid against the cliff face.

"This isn't going to stop us," Clara growled, sending out her Barbaracle. "Rock Smash!"

With a thunderous crack, the boulder crumbled to pieces, revealing a cave entrance.

"This isn't good," I said. "Arcanine, I-"

I sensed a presence near us. I turned to the right, but I wasn't fast enough. A blow to the head had me collapse to the ground, my vision fading. Then I was submerged in darkness.

**Totally unexpected chapter huh. Well, you guys ain't ready for what I have in store next. Till that time. Toodles**


	20. Chapter 19: Sacrifices

I awoke, tasting blood on my mouth. I sat up, coughing. Small splatters of blood flew from my mouth, staining the already bloodstained rocky floor. Looking around, I appeared to be in a small cell, surrounded by rock walls. Except for me and the bloodstains, the small area was empty. A metal gate stood in front of me, lodged deep in the ground.

Frantic, I searched my person, but aside from a few rips in the clothing, I had nothing. My knife and pokeballs were gone. Standing, I peered through the rusty metal gate, seeing a cave tunnel outside, going both left and right.

I shook on the gate, slightly rattling. "Hey! Anyone there!? Hello!"

"H-hello?"

I strained my eyes to the right, but only managed to see a hint of another gate. "Yes. Who's there?"

"Uh," the voice trembled slightly. A girl's. "Mira."

"I'm Zeno," I said. "Are you a prisoner too?"

"Yeah," her voice was quiet and petite. She must be a child.

"I need to know," my hands gripped the gate harder. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," her scared voice replied. "I remember going to bed, then waking up here."

Something clanged to my left and my eyes darted in that direction. Two figures were walking down the tunnel, dressed in dark purple robes, hoods covering their faces.

As they seemingly glided by, I shook on the gates. "Hey! Let us out of here!"

They stopped, both turning towards me.

"Silence," one rasped. "The sacrifice will be silent."

"Ordered," said the other. "Ordered to keep you contained."

They turned away and continued walking down the tunnel.

"Hey!" I shouted after them. "Who are you!? What do you want from us!?"

No answer. Ten seconds after they were out of sight, I heard the sound of another gate closing shut.

"Damn," I pressed my hand to my forehead. I had no idea where I was, nor did I know where Alex, Robert, or Clara were. I was in this unknown situation, with no idea what to do.

"No," I thought. "I've been in worse situations before. I can get out of this one too."

"What are you doing?" the girl asked timidly.

I felt the gate, sliding my hands down to where they entered the ground. "Give me a minute."

I wrapped my fingers around the thin metal and tried to heave it upward, with only a slight rattle awarded to me. At least I was getting somewhere.

Wrapping my fingers tighter around the metal, I gritted my teeth and tried to lift the gate. It slowly lifted an inch, but I couldn't move any further. The gate bit into my fingers blood slowly dripping from my fingers.

"AAAACK!" I fell backwards, letting the gate drop back down with a clang. Blood ran down my fingers, but I barely felt the pain.

"You okay?" The girl asked.

I let out a deep sigh, clenching and unclenching my fingers. "Mostly. It seems there's no way for us to get out of here without help."

"Oh," she went quiet. Then, after several minutes of silence, "Lunatone!"

I sat up from where I had laid down. Coming out of the rock wall outside both of our wall was a Lunatone. It seemed to simply separate itself from the rocks, as if it was part of the wall.

"Lunatone," the girl gasped. "Can you free us!? Please!?"

Lunatone made a low, humming sort of sound, its eyes glowing pink. With loud clangs, my gate and the girl's flew forwards, slamming into the wall near Lunatone, dust flying into the air. I got up, slowly walking out. When the dust settled, the girl was hugging the Lunatone. She wore a white dress with small frills on the bottom, her straight black hair going down just past her shoulders. She looked to be 8, or 9.

"This is your Pokemon?" I asked.

She nodded. "Me and Lunatone have been together for as long as I can remember. She had disappeared when I was taken. I was so worried."

Lunatone glowed with a pink aura as Mira hugged the Rock type tightly. It seemed content, happy.

"Okay," I looked around, making sure no one was coming from either direction. "We need to get out of here, but first we need to find everyone else who was taken."

Mira nodded, then Lunatone began drifting down the tunnel to the right, where the robed figures had disappeared down. At the end of the tunnel was another gate, a lever next to it.

"He says to follow him," Mira said, hurrying after her Pokemon.

Looking back behind us to just see the tunnel go on as far as the eye could see, flaming torches casting long shadows, I figured it was best to trust the Pokemon. I moved past Mira and hefted the lever upwards, the metal gate clanking as it was brought up. I entered a small chamber, with another tunnel across from me.

I held out my hand to stop Mira. "Don't come in and don't look."

"But," Mira said, but Lunatone had moved to block her view.

I went in a bit further and knelt by the drawing on the ground. A circle with a dozen arrows shooting out in all directions. Each one was a different size and the way they were arranged had no particular pattern to them. But two things stood out. The way the drawing looked like it had been painted with blood and the severed arm lying on its side off in the corner of the round chamber.

"What is this!?" I clenched a fist, thankfully not recognizing the arm. "What in the hell is this!?"

"I'm so glad you asked, Zeno."

I spun around to see a cloaked figure behind Mira. He had grabbed her, a jagged knife pressed to her throat. Lunatone seemed surprised and made to attack, but the man made a bead of blood appear on the girl's throat, her eyes wide in fright.

"Stop, Lunatone," I said, trying to keep myself in control. I couldn't do anything to anger this person, not when he had a hostage. "What do you want?"

"What do we want?" he pushed back his hood with his free hand, revealing short brown hair. He was the same guy from the Pokemon Center, the one with the Lampent. Bradley. "We want you and this girl to be our sacrifices."

I felt a slight rush of wind. I looked around. People in purple cloaks were now lined along the circular wall, blocking the tunnel. I couldn't see a single face since they were hidden in shadows. A dozen Lampents floated around the room, casting a ghostly aura around us.

"Who are you people?" I asked, wishing I had Arcanine with me, or my knife.

"We are the people of the All-Powerful One," he said, raising his free hand dramatically. "We are the chosen few who do her bidding! We will be the ones who will help her rise once more! We are hers! We are the Cult of Chaos!"

"We are the Cult of Chaos."

All the cloaked figures began chanting those words and a symbol glowed atop their hoods. The same symbol that was drawn on the floor.

"Chaos," I muttered, remembering the chilling words imparted to me in a dream. _"I look forward to when we meet on the fields of chaos."_ And the dream I had of Chaos speaking to me back in my house._ "I am the embodiment of Chaos."_

"Of course," the guy waved his hand. "We can't sacrifice you yet, Zeno. It's not time yet. But this girl, her blood will be the first Chaos shall taste."

"Don't you dare," anger rose up within me as I clenched my fists. "Don't you dare hurt her!"

Tears were running down Mira's cheeks. Lunatone glowed brighter, but couldn't do anything. The cultist grinned maniacally. "Oh, that anger. It is good, truly good. You will be the perfect sacrifice indeed. But not yet, not yet. Now's not the time."

His eyes seemed to be only filled with glee and chaos. "Now, let the first sacrifice off her virgin body to the All-Powerful One. Let her pureness fuel the chaos!"

"NO!" I yelled, lunging forwards. A slicing sound shot through the air, blood splattering across the me and the ground, the symbol of Chaos glowing a sickly purple upon the floor.

...

Clara gripped the gate tightly. "Let us out you bastards! I know you can hear me! Let us the hell out!"

"That's not gonna help," Alex sighed from her corner.

"I don't see you doing anything smart ass," Clara growled. "Unlike you, I want to get out of here! I want my Pokemon back!"

"We all do," Robert said from his corner. "It's pointless to yell though."

"Screw you," Clara said angrily, then turned back to the gate. "I said come out you cowards! You bast-!"

A clanking sound could be heard before two figures stepped into view, wearing purple cloaks.

Clara grinned. "Perfect. Now, let me out of here so I can kick both of your asses."

The gate rose and Alex and Robert shot to their feet. Before any of them could react, both cloaked figures had grabbed Clara by the arms and began dragging her off.

"Hey!" She yelled, flailing about, but to no avail. "Let go of me now!"

The gate slammed down before Alex or Robert could try to escape and Clara's voice faded away into the distance.

...

"Be our entertainment for the night," one of the men said, laughing as he pushed Clara through an opening, a gate slamming down behind her. She growled at them before looking at her surroundings. She was in a large cavern that was shaped like a Colosseum of sorts. High circular walls around her with areas to sit above, flaming torches everywhere. Hundreds of cloaked figures sat on the carved stone, staring at her, as dozens of Lampents hovered around them. Clara flipped them the finger.

On the opposite side of the arena, a gate lifted and the punk guy from the Pokemon Center was pushed through. A cloaked figure stood amongst his brethren, raising both hands, his voice echoeing across the cavern.

"You two have been chosen to be sacrifices to the All-Powerful One. Duel to the death and the survivor will be spared!"

He tossed something into the middle of the arena. A knife. The punk guy began eyeing it dangerously. Clara narrowed her eyes, determined not to be entertainment for these freaks.

"Begin!"

Clara had no choice but to dart for the knife as the Punk guy did. Whoever got to the knife first would have the advantage and she wasn't willing to pass that up.

...

I sank to my knees, holding Mira close to my body while the cultist shrieked with laughter. "Oh, she was good indeed! Her blood will fuel Chaos' rise!"

I lowered her body and rose, Lunatone hovering next to me, glowing a dangerous red. I raised my gaze to stare at the cultist. "You're gonna pay for what you just did. Lunatone, will you help me?"

He hummed with power and I nodded. "Then let's take them down."

**Hey. I'm back. It's been two weeks. School started, so I barely found time to write this. Heck, I already have two projects to work on for HBiology and Health. However, I am enjoying school very much. I love my classes (Except for Language Arts. Teacher sucks. Health too I guess, since it's boring), especially Chemistry. Man its fun to see explosions. Anyway, next chapter won't come out for another week at least. If I can get a chapter of TMR out this weekend, that would be awesome. If not, LDOC might get pushed back to two weeks. I hope you all enjoyed this twisted chapter and I look forward to your comments. Toodles**


	21. Chapter 20: Escaping the Chaos

Clara panted, stepping away from the punk dude, who held the knife. He was also panting, both of them having done a complicated dance of slash and dodge.

"Damnit," Clara growled. "You're just putting on a show for them."

"I don't care," his eyes were wide. "I just want to live."

Clara clenched her teeth, both of them unsure of the other's next move. Then, Clara lunged forwards. The guy jabbed the knife forwards, but Clara sidestepped, flipping his wrist around so he would drop the knife. Then she kneed him in the gut and punched him in the face. He fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

"Geez," Clara picked up the knife. "I guess I could kill you, but that would be living up to his image of me. That's not me. I'm no killer."

She turned swiftly and flung the knife towards the cloaked figure who had been announcing. The knife simply bounced off the cloak, clattering on the rocks.

"Tch," Clara backed up as all the cloaked figures stood, faces still hidden beneath hoods.

"It seems," the announcer picked the knife back up. "We will have two sacrifices instead of one."

...

I rushed forwards, swinging my right fist. Bradley didn't move, allowing the punch to strike his cloak. I grunted, the fabric slightly harder than I had believed it to be.

The cultist grinned widely, unaffected by the punch. "Pathetic."

I glared at him. "It wasn't meant to take you down."

His eyes darted down just as I brought my left hand up in a blue, wielding the knife I had snatched from his very hand. He barely managed to stumble backwards, the knife slicing through the air. He stared at me as the Cultists around us didn't move. A thin line of blood appeared on his right cheek. He felt it, grinning again.

"How lovely," he cackled. "You are truly worthy to be a sacrifice to the All-Powerful One."

"Damn you and your All-Powerful One!" I spat. " I refuse to be a pawn in your stupid game! Now, tell me where my friends are!"

"Unfortunately," Bradley cocked his head to one side. "You need to stay here. As long as you aren't killed, you are still our precious sacrifice."

"Oh, Chaos," he chanted, the others repeating his words in a mantra. "Hear your followers prayers, give us the strength to bind those who oppose you. Give us the dexterity to prepare your sacrifice."

The symbol on the floor glowed even brighter along with the ones on the hoods. In the blink of an eye, Bradley rushed forwards, fist heading for my stomach. However, a shield of energy erupted in front of me, blocking the attack. I looked at Lunatone, his eyes glowing.

"Thank you," I said with gratitude. "I don't know what you can do, but let's make sure to work together."

Lunatone hummed with agreement, eyes glowing again. The room shook, dust and small rocks falling from the ceiling. The cultists struggled to maintain their balance, the glow of the symbols fading in and out. A large crack formed in the center of the floor, disrupting the flow of energy.

"NO!" Bradley clutched the sides of his head, shouting over the sound of breaking rock. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

A crack split between me and him and I glared at him. "WHATEVER YOUR 'ALL-POWERFUL ONE' HAS PLANNED, I WILL STOP IT! YOU'VE MADE AN ENEMY OF ME TODAY! AND I PROMISE, I WON'T STOP UNTIL ALL OF YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!"

I heard the sound of the ground ripping up on both sides of me and I heard the cultists grunt in pain. I looked to see Lunatone moving the earth to pin the cloaked people against the wall as well as the Lampents.

"Come on," I told Lunatone, looking for Mira's body. But it was gone. I swung my eyes around, but where her body was supposed to be, there was a large crack. As I watched, it sealed up. Maybe it was Lunatone's way of keeping his trainer's body safe.

I ran past the struggling cultists and down the tunnel. I had no idea where I was heading, but I had to hope it lead to my friends.

...

Alex and Robert looked at the ceiling, feeling the soft quake. Dust filtered down from the ceiling and the gate jiggled, making loud noises.

Robert shared a glance with Alex. "You think?"

She nodded, smiling. "Yeah, it's him. It's always him."

...

The cloaked figures began falling due to the earthquake and Clara struggled to maintain her balance.

"This better be helpful," she growled as she watched the punk dude try to get to his feet. "Hey. You done trying to kill me?"

He nodded and Clara grinned. "Good, cause we need to get out of here. Help me with the gate."

She hauled him to his feet and led him to the gate she had been pushed through. Together, they tried to lift it and managed to get it half a foot up.

Clara grunted as she strained her body. "This is harder than it looks."

She glanced behind her, seeing the cloaked figures jumping down into the arena.

"Not good," she clenched her teeth, readying herself for another fight.

...

Whenever we ran into a cultist, either I would slam them into the wall as I passed, or Lunatone would do it for me. We had entered several chambers already, with the same symbol upon the floor, drawn in blood. Each time Lunatone would rip it apart by forming cracks.

Finally, we entered a room with shelves carved into the rock walls. Sitting on a shelf was all the stuff that was taken from my friends, the others who were kidnapped, and I. I located my pokeballs next to my knife and clipped them to my waist. Then I grabbed the knife, sliding it into place next to Arcanine's pokeball.

"Lunatone," I said. "Could you carry everything?"

Lunatone glowed and so did all the items. They were lifted into the air and we continued on our way. The next chamber with the symbol had a gruesome scene. The trainers in the PMC were laying on the ground, dead, the slash wounds on their necks fresh.

"So they decided to kill them despite everything going on," I clenched my fists, making sure Alex and Robert weren't among them. I was relieved they weren't, but a small part of me wondered why they weren't here.

_"Maybe they need them alive along with me,"_ I thought, but it didn't encourage me.

"Come on out Arcanine," I said, releasing him. "Take the lead buddy. See if you can find Alex, Robert, and Clara."

He growled and took off. Lunatone and I ran to keep up. Soon, we were in front of a cell.

"Zeno!" Alex and Robert exclaimed from inside, standing immediately.

I sighed in relief. "Thank Arceus the both of you are alive. Arcanine, get them out."

Arcanine gripped the gate with his teeth and heaved it backwards, breaking the ground and ceiling. The shaking from Lunatone's earthquake was slowing down now, but it was still there.

"Where are the other trainers?" Alex asked, grabbing her stuff.

I looked away. "Dead."

Alex and Robert didn't say anything. They knew my past, the horrors I've witness and caused. Anymore death on my hands only added to that. Despite conquering my darkness in Alola, I didn't know if I could conquer the present horrors.

_"Mira," _I thought, but shook her out of my mind. Now was not a good time to get lost in grief. I had to keep a cool head, for all our sakes.

"Where's Clara?" I asked.

"They took her like twenty minutes ago," Robert explained. "Just down the tunnel somewhere."

My thoughts flashed back to Mira and the other trainers. "Let's go. Arcanine, sniff her out."

...

Clara backed up against the arena wall as the punk guy lay dead in the middle. Several of the cloaked figures leaned over him, carving something into his back. By now the tremors had ceased.

"Damn," Clara cursed as they closed in on her, each one holding a jagged knife. At least she didn't have anyone else to worry about but herself.

"One small advantage in a flood of disadvantages," she muttered, glaring at them. Then the gate exploded outwards, a cloud of dust filling half the area. All the cloaked figures stopped to look, knives dropping slightly.

Nothing emerged from the dust at first, but then there was a flicker of fire. The dust was scattered as a wave of heat blasted forwards. It slammed into several cloaked figures, blasting them backwards.

"So," Zeno said, standing next to his Arcanine as Alex and Robert walked up next to him, blood covering parts of his clothes. "This is where all of you were."

...

"It's him."

"The sacrifice."

"The Hero Born of Darkness."

I clenched my fists. "Yeah, it's me. Now, let Clara go and we'll be on our way."

"No," one of the cultists held out his arms, a knife in his right hand. "She must be sacrificed. The All-Powerful One wishes it!"

"Screw that," Clara ran into him from behind, knocking him forwards. She snatched his knife and swung it around. "Don't come any closer!"

I saw the cultist's cloak move. "Clara! Get away from him!"

"What?" Clara glanced down, just in time for the man to throw a Dusk Ball. A Chandelure floated out, ghostly flames dancing. She ran just as the Ghost type unleashed a burst of fire.

"Arcanine!" I yelled, throwing my hand out. He ran forwards, shoving aside the cloaked figures. He cleared a path for Clara before engaging Chandelure. Both blasted Flamethrowers at each other, stray embers setting cloaks on fire.

Once Clara grabbed her stuff, we began backing away from the Cultists, who had scattered from the two Pokemon. Lampents flew around the room, blasting fire. If it wasn't for Alex's Ninetales blocking the fire, things would be much worse. The cavern began shaking, Lunatone starting up another earthquake.

There were too many things happening now, it was complete chaos.

A chill crept down my spine. I could feel a presence, laughing, drinking in this chaos.

"I am everywhere," a whisper. "Chaos is everywhere."

Suddenly, a glow surrounded us all, lifting us into the air. I looked to see Lunatone's eyes glowing.

I held out my pokeball. "Arcanine, return!"

He was sucked back into his pokeball with a flash of red light just as we hit the ceiling. Or rather, we went right through it. Everything was pitch black and cold. Then, we erupted onto the beach just outside of Ambrette Town.

I fell on the sand, blinking at the harsh sunlight. I heard a rumbling and looked at the cliff. It cracked and part of it collapsed in on itself. The rock formation that had looked thin broke and collapsed to the sand to our left.

"AUGH!" Clara screamed in rage, getting to her feet. "DAMN PEOPLE!"

"YOU!" she whirled in my direction. "I heard what they were saying about you! You were the one they wanted, don't deny it!"

I just stared at her.

Her face was tight with anger. "I'm done. I'm done travelling with you people. First my Pokemon were stolen by Team Radiance, then we ran into Team Flare. Now this! You're bad luck! People around you get hurt! Killed!"

She pointed at the blood staining my shirt. "That blood isn't yours, is it?"

I didn't say anything, but my eyes betrayed me.

"Yeah," Clara backed up. "I thought so. Goodbye, all of you. I hope we never see each other again."

She stalked off in the direction of Cyllage City, slightly limping.

We just sat there, watching her leave. Alex and Robert didn't say anything, so I spoke.

"She's right," I said. "First Kanto, then Alola, now Kalos. Death stalks around me, waiting for prey."

"Don't," Alex stood, grasping my hand. "Don't hurt yourself. You can't control any of that. Besides, you've changed. You saved hundreds, no thousands of lives. You are... were the Hero Born of Darkness. That's why I'm sure you'll stop this Cult of Chaos."

Robert clasped his hand on my shoulder. "We're right here, by your side, no matter what happens."

I gripped my hands, squeezing my eyes shut. Then, I let myself breathe.

I got up, dusting sand off my arms. "Alright then. We'll stop this cult."

I gripped a fist. "And I'll do so, becoming the Hero Born of Darkness once more."

**My homework was lighter this week, so I've found time to write this. The next update for this will be about another week since I'll be focusing on TMR this weekend. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, which honestly isn't much. Till next time. Toodles**


	22. Chapter 21: A Wall to Climb

I sighed. "Today sucked."

"I concur," Alex said from the bed she was laying in.

"Sucks that Lunatone disappeared," Robert said from the sink. "Wonder why he left."

I shrugged. I had told them about the girl, which was most likely the reason he left. I could understand that he didn't want a new trainer, but I was worried.

I could hear faint sirens from outside the hotel we were in inside of Cyllage City. "What's going on out there?"

"Officer Jenny arrested some guy who was selling these things called O-Powers," Robert explained. "I think it's some kind of drug consumable by Humans and Pokemon."

"First I heard of it," I said, getting up from the floor. "Alright, we should talk now. It's been driving me crazy."

Alex sat up, straightening her hair with her hands. "Finally. I know it's supposed to be a traumatic experience, but we need to talk."

Robert nodded as I started. "We know that Team Radiance hasn't been doing anything, so that leaves the suspects down to Team Flare and this Cult of Chaos."

"Who were the ones to cause Garchomp to go wild?" Alex mused. "Maybe Team Flare? They were experimenting with fossil Pokemon. Why not with a Garchomp?"

Robert nodded. "That would make sense. So who do you think were messing with the stones on Route 10? The cult?"

"But what would the cult want with some stones?" I wondered. "If only we knew what they were and what significance they held. We'll have to find out more once we get to Geosenge Town. That's our next stop, right?"

Robert pulled out his Holo Caster. "Yep. So once we know more, we can maybe discover more."

"Back to the cult," Alex said. "You said they were trying to raise this 'Chaos'?"

I nodded. "Yeah, and they need sacrifices to do it. One of them said something about it not being time for me to be sacrificed. I assume they'll be doing more of what they've done. We have to stop that from happening."

"The question is how though," Robert shook his head. "We don't exactly have a timetable of when they'll have sacrifices."

"There's something else," Alex studied me for a second. "You already knew about this Chaos, didn't you."

It wasn't a question. I nodded. "How'd you know?"

"The way you say it," Alex said. "It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into that word."

I sighed. "Yeah, I have actually. Six months worth of it. During the Alolan League, I dreamt of her. Chaos."

I knew I should probably mention the Shadow, but he wasn't really tied to all of this. This was about Chaos, not him. So I withheld that information.

"She said she would meet me on the field of chaos, whatever that means," I continued. "Then when we were in Vaniville Town, I dreamed again. That's when she mentioned she would rise and how she was nothing like the Shadow."

"That's comforting," Robert groaned. "Anything else?"

I thought about it, then nodded. "During that same dream, I saw several things. A cocoon that vibed death, some sort of Pokemon trapped in a tank, and a lake of green water. That's when I heard another voice."

I closed my eyes and tried to sink myself back into that moment, a sense of calm and order washing over me. "We will wait and watch to see if humanity is worthy. Troubling times are ahead. Know that you are not enough, not like last time. You are but one human. You cannot hope to stand against Chaos itself."

I reopened my eyes to see both Alex and Robert thinking.

"Well," Robert tapped his chin. "I figured one thing out."

"What?" Alex and I both asked.

"We came to this region at the wrong time," Robert said. "It's freaking Alola all over again. Evil organizations abound and mythical creatures weaving their way through Zeno's head. All we need now is a prophecy."

"Having second thought?" I asked, a bit scared for the answer.

Robert shook his head, smiling. "Not at all. Honestly, despite what that voice said about you not being enough, that doesn't mean you won't be able to do something. If anything, you'll be a major factor in all of this. And if that's true, that means Alex and I probably are as well. We can't just abandon this region in its time of need."

Alex grinned. "What he said. We're in this together, one hundred percent."

I smiled. "You two are crazy to continue to stay with me. But, it's good to know I have people I can trust my life to."

"And no more Clara," Alex sounded a little too happy. "Thank Arceus for that."

"I have to agree with her on this one," Robert said.

I nodded. "Yeah, I get you too. But we'll no doubt run into her again. I would prefer to smooth things over between us."

"Don't waste your breath," Alex advised. "Now, I want to challenge the gym today. You up for it Zeno?"

I nodded. "Why not."

I went over to where Froakie was sleeping on my bed and gently prodded him awake. He was alert in an instant, staring up at me.

"Ready to challenge the gym?" I asked.

"Froakie!" He cried, leaping onto my shoulder.

I grinned. "Then let's get to it."

...

"That's a big wall," Robert commented, staring up at the huge wall of rock. There were a bunch of colorful hand and foot holds leading up to the top, which seemed a ways off.

"So you three finally made it," we turned to see Grant grinning behind us. "I've been wondering when I could experience your battles."

"What's with the wall?" Alex asked.

"Just a little challenge," Grant said, putting his hands on his hips. "I have a little something for the one who can beat me to the top. Care to try it?"

"No thanks," Robert waved his hand. "I'll take the elevator if you have it."

"I say bring it on," I grinned. "Right Froakie?"

"Froak," he agreed.

"Why not?" Alex said. "I have nothing to lose."

"Elevator's over there," Grant directed Robert. "As for you two, start whenever you're ready. I can give you a little head start."

Alex started immediately, but I hung back next to Grant.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Not gonna climb?"

I shook my head. "No. I want to do this on an equal playing field. If I end up beating you, I want to start at the same place as you."

He grinned. "I like the way you think. Then, let's go."

As soon as we gripped the first handhold, we began climbing. The movements were muscle memory for me, years of training honed within me by my coaches in Team Rocket. But Grant had trained too. For far longer definitely, maybe for his whole life.

"But," I set my gaze to the top. "I won't be beaten that easily."

With Froakie clinging to my head, I climbed past Alex, pulling ahead of Grant. Soon, I had reached the top. I pulled myself over, breathing hard.

"Amazing," Grant chuckled. "You were able to beat me. You're more capable than you look."

He tossed me something and I caught it. I looked at it in my open palm to see a round, colorful stone.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I don't know," Grant said. "Isn't it intriguing though."

I nodded and tucked it away in my pocket. Alex then heaved herself on the ground next to me.

"Geez," she said, wiping the sweat off her forehead. "You two are way too fast."

"Yo Robert!" Grant called to him. "You mind refereeing?"

"Not a problem," Robert grinned. "The gym battle between Zeno the challenger and Grant the Cyllage Gym Leader will soon begin! Each side will have the use of two Pokemon and the battle will be over when either trainer's Pokemon are unable to continue! Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon!"

Grant walked to the far side of the battlefield, tapping a pokeball against his thigh. "I must say, I've been waiting in eager anticipation. Seeing your battle with Clara, that was something, despite you having the disadvantage. And to have climbed my walls with ease, surpassing even me, is quite the achievement. I have a feeling our battle will turn out to be worth the wait. I hope you'll show me that your skill as a trainer surpasses even mine."

He popped his neck twice, before throwing his pokeball. "Let's begin climbing this wall, Tyrunt!"

"Let's go Froakie," I said, throwing out my hand. Froakie ran across it, jumping from the tips of fingers and onto the battlefield. "Use Quick Attack!"

"Block his path with Rock Tomb!" Grant countered.

Tyrunt stomped on the ground, huge boulders sent flying into the air. They crashed around Froakie, who dodged them, but tripped in the process, ending the Quick Attack.

"Crunch!" Grant shouted.

Tyrunt charged for Froakie, who was getting back on his feet.

"Use your bubbles!" I yelled.

Froakie dragged a clump from around his neck and threw it at the fossil Pokemon's feet. He tripped, unable to drag himself free.

"Now use Water Pulse!" I shouted.

Froakie leaped into the air, shooting the sphere of water into Tyrunt's head. The Rock type shook his head, glaring at the Water type.

"Use Draco Meteor!" Grant yelled and my eyes widened.

Tyrunt aimed his open jaw to the rock ceiling above and fired an orb of golden light. It shattered into over a dozen pieces, each one shooting down like a meteor.

"Use Quick Attack to dodge!" I commanded.

Froakie tried his best, but in the end he was struck by one of the pieces. He was blown to the side, trying to get up.

"Dragon Tail!"

Tyrunt came sliding out of nowhere, slamming his glowing tail into Froakie, sending him flying. Before he hit the ground he was zapped back into my pokeball.

"Fine then," I said, sending out Riolu. "Let's finish what Froakie started. Bullet Punch!"

Riolu appeared in front of Tyrunt, striking him repeatedly, then blasted him backwards with a Force Palm.

"He's strong," Grant praised. "But can he defeat our ultimate strategy? Draco Meteor and Rock Tomb!"

Tyrunt began stomping on the ground as he fired a Draco Meteor into the air, huge rocks blasting out of the ground.

"Quick Attack!" I shouted.

Riolu blasted off, dodging the fiery comets and ducking beneath boulders. Then Tyrunt was there, jaws wide open. He crunched on Riolu, the Fighting type crying out in pain. Before I could say a command, Tyrunt flung Riolu away and he got hit by a meteor, slamming down into the ground.

Riolu got up, bruised and battered, but still raring to right.

"Draco Meteor and Rock Tomb," I thought. "That is a tough combination. I need a strategy to counteract it."

"If you won't act, then I will," Grant said. "Tyrunt, Draco Meteor and Rock Tomb once more!"

"Let's see if this works," I said, throwing out my hand. "Riolu, Force Palm the ground!"

Riolu didn't hesitate, slamming his open palm on the ground. He blasted himself upwards from, sailing past flaming meteors, but the huge boulders were heading straight for him.

"Force Palm them!" I shouted. "Straight into Tyrunt!"

Grant's eyes widened as Riolu slammed his open palms against one of the rocks, blasting it backwards. He managed to do the same to one more, both boulders crashing into Tyrunt. The Rock type looked disoriented, wobbling on his feet.

"Tyrunt," Grant called out to him.

Up in the air, Riolu's right foot sparked an ember, before blasting into an inferno. He swung himself down, spinning to the point where the fire had cocooned him in a vortex of flames. He slammed his foot into Tyrunt's head, blasting him backwards with a blast of fire.

I immediately returned Riolu before the fire could spread along his body. Tyrunt didn't get up where he lay, so Grant returned him as well.

"Tyrunt is unable to battle," Robert yelled. "Gym Leader Grant, please send out your next Pokemon!"

"Geez," I said, tucking Riolu's pokeball away. "Couldn't resist that finishing move huh. We have more training to do it seems."

"Come on out Froakie," I yelled, tossing him out, worried somewhat. He had already taken a lot of damage. We would have to be quick about taking out whatever Grant sent out.

Grant tossed his pokeball into the air. "Come on out, Onix!"

The huge Rock Snake Pokemon loomed over Froakie, who was dwarfed compared to Onix.

"Flash Cannon," Grant yelled.

"Arceus," I stared up at the massive Pokemon charging up the energy attack. "Froakie, Quick Attack!"

He barely dodged in time as the Flash Cannon blasted apart the ground.

"Water Pulse!" I shouted.

Froakie managed to blast Onix with the move, but Onix swiftly turned around, tail swinging.

"Iron Tail!" Grant yelled.

A coat of iron flashed over his tail as it beared down upon Froakie.

"Into the air!" I ordered and Froakie leaped above the tail. "Run along his body and Water Pulse his head!"

Froakie landed on Onix's tail and began running up him, bouncing from rock to rock. He jumped above Onix's head and blasted him with a Water Pulse.

"Rock Tomb!" Grant yelled.

Huge boulders shot from the ground, all of them smashing into Froakie at the same time. He fell, crashing onto the ground, badly damaged.

"Froakie!" I yelled.

"Froak," he tried to stand, but struggled to do so. "Froak... Froakie."

"It's fine Froakie," I said. "You don't have to push yourself. We all have our battles to lose."

Froakie turned his gaze to me, a determined expression on his face. He was badly hurt and death always loomed over him like a shadow, but he was determined to go on.

"Froakie," I said, my gut twisted. "You can't go on like this."

"Froak froak froakie," he turned his gaze back to Onix, hands formed into fists. "Froak. Froak! FROAKIE!"

Energy blasted from Froakie, a blinding light enveloping him. He charged forwards, growing and hunching over as he ran. He jumped and swung a fist, the impact against Onix making the Rock type almost topple over. Once Froakie landed back on the ground, he had evolved. His head and hands a dark blue with his lower body light blue. His bubbles now wrapped around his neck like a scarf, the tail end hanging behind him.

I heard Robert boot up his pokedex.

"Frogadier, the Bubble Frog Pokemon, and the evolved form of Froakie. Its swiftness is unparalleled. It can scale a tower of more than 2,000 feet in a minute's time."

"You evolved," I breathed. Frogadier glanced back at me and nodded. I grinned. "Alright then! Let's use that new move again!"

Frogadier clenched his right fist and it began to glow. He ran forwards with incredible speed, launching himself up Onix's body, slamming his fist into the Rock type's head.

"Blast him with Flash Cannon!" Grant commanded.

"Dodge!" I countered.

Frogadier ran across the ground as the beam neared him. Then the Water type split into doubles, then doubled again, multiple copies of himself running around.

"Double Team," I said in surprise, thinking of Decidueye, then grinned. "All of you, use Water Pulse!"

They all fired Water Pulses, cutting off Onix's Flash Cannon. They then jumped and all punched Onix, the Rock type getting knocked onto his back, fainted.

"Onix is unable to battle!" Robert called out. "That means the challenger Zeno is the winner."

"Yes!" I pumped a fist into the air as Frogadier crashed into me. I hugged him tightly. "You were amazing Frogadier. You've definitely grown stronger."

"Froga," he nuzzled my chest.

I got up as Grant came over. "You both were amazing Zeno. I was not disappointed."

He held out a badge. "You have proven to be a wall that I am unable to surmount. This Cliff Badge rightfully belongs to you."

I took it and smiled. "Thank you. Without this battle, Frogadier wouldn't have evolved. Now, he'll be stronger than ever."

Grant chuckled. "He sure will. Now, I take it I have a battle with your friend to do. Once this is all over, I wish you and your friends the best of luck on your journey."

As he and Alex went to prepare for their battle, I looked at Frogadier. I looked into his eyes and didn't see the defeated look of that sickly Froakie. Now he had evolved, and maybe, just maybe, we could defeat fate together.

**I know I didn't do a battle featuring Alex and a gym leader, but she isn't the reason I'm doing these gym battles. They aren't just about fighting and winning badges. For Zeno, they're a way to make Frogadier enjoy life, and maybe one day make him strong enough to overcome his destiny. So it's unlikely I'll write a battle scene with Alex and a gym leader, but it's still a possibility. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It probably won't be updated for about another 2-3 weeks, since I need to focus on TMR and maybe a chapter of Pokemon Dark, which recently got a cover. So, until then my faithful readers. Toodles**


	23. Chapter 22: The Missing Stones

She hid in the bushes, wary of the people skulking around the graves. They were silent as the night, attaching small devices to several graves. Finally, one spoke, who was messing with a machine of sorts.

"Begin the testing," a female voice said. "We only take the ones with the highest readings. You also have permission from our leader to capture any strong Pokemon that could be useful for our cause. You all know your assignments. Get to work."

Several people shuffled away from the main group and into the night, walking amongst the gravestones. She felt uneasy, then heard a cry. Her head jerked to the left, eyes narrowing. She ran through the bushes and out onto the grass. Several of the people were herding up several Eevees, who were frightened and obviously didn't want to be captured.

"Damn humans!" she thought, launching herself into the air, sending a wave of energy slamming into the humans. They were slammed forwards and fell onto the ground.

She landed back on the ground, and urged the Eevees to get out of the area. They fled and she turned her eyes back to the machine and the person operating it. Her body glowing, she charged.

...

Alex let the badge glint in the sunlight, smiling. "Finally got my second badge. It's been a while since the first."

I nodded in agreement. "I wonder if all the gyms will be this spaced out."

"Does it really matter?" Robert asked as we crossed the bridge out of Cyllage City. "If this journey took a whole year to complete, I wouldn't complain."

I laughed. "You're right there, friend."

I took a more solemn voice. "But, it's better that it doesn't. Not with Team Flare and the Cult running around."

Alex grimaced. "I hate to say it, but you're right. They need to be stopped."

As we stepped onto the grass, I looked down the route. In the distance, I could see stones jutting out of the ground, all five different sizes.

"Route 10," I said. "That's right. This is where some of the stones were stolen."

"Should we look around?" asked Alex.

"It'll take us about a day or less to get from here to Geosenge Town," Robert said, looking at a map. "That's in one go."

"We'll set up camp when it get's dark," I said. "It might be wise to look around. We need to look for any signs of Team Flare or the Chaos Cult."

"No splitting up then?" Robert asked, looking up from the map.

"Definitely no splitting up," I confirmed, grabbing my three pokeballs. "Come on out, Arcanine, Frogadier, Riolu."

They appeared in front of me, Frogadier, and Riolu looking better after a night with Nurse Joy.

Alex let out Ninetales and Absol. Absol, once healed, seemed to want to stay with Alex, even though she pretended like she hated us all.

Robert let out Chespin, which had me ask, "What about Snorlax?"

He shook his head. "Snorlax is good when we're battling or just going for a nice stroll, but since we're going to be looking around, a huge giant isn't going to help."

I nodded, but before I could say anything else, someone shouted, "TRAINERS!"

We all turned to see a woman with long blonde hair in shorts and a red jacket run over, a symbol on her red and black hat that I didn't recognize. A female Pyroar was at her side, who wore a black vest with the same symbol imprinted upon it. Alex's Absol seemed to regard the woman curiously, then narrowed her eyes at the Pyroar.

She slowed to a stop in front of us, pushing her large turtleneck down a little. "As the Pokemon Ranger overseeing this route, I have to warn any passing trainers. There's been a certain Pokemon around here causing trouble for any trainer trying to go through this route. I'd advise to keep an eye out and go straight to Geosenge Town."

"What kind of Pokemon?" Robert asked, but the ranger had already hurried away along with her Pyroar, busy checking her glowing watch.

"Huh," Alex twisted her mouth. "Looks like we'll have to be careful then."

"Yeah," I said, thinking. "Why did she only say that?"

Alex and Robert looked at me, so I explained. "We already heard that stones have gone missing here as well as suspicious activity. Why not warn us about that as well."

"Good question," Robert nodded. "Plus, she left without answering my question."

Alex frowned. "You're suggesting she's suspicious?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I am. Let's just look around and see what happens."

...

"Riolu," the Fighting type announced, pointing to a hole in the ground.

"Good find," I praised him and he looked proud. The stones all around us weren't placed in any distinguishable order, so trying to locate places where they used to be was hard, especially since they were everywhere around us. This hole was about three feet deep and wide enough to to fit the bottom of one of the stones.

Frogadier peered into the hole beside me, but both of us found nothing of interest.

"Dang," I said, standing back up. "I was hoping there would at least be tracks or a clue of some sorts lying around."

"We'll just have to keep looking," Alex said confidently. "We'll find something, I'm sure of it."

I nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let's keep looking."

Absol crouched beside Alex, growling as she stared into a clump of tall grass.

"What is it?" Alex narrowed her eyes at the grass, which only seemed to move in response to the wind.

Suddenly, something leaped out from the grass. It was a blur of movement as it went straight for Alex. Frogadier intercepted in the nick of time, sending the wild Pokemon skidding to the side.

Now that it had stopped moving, giving us a look of hatred, I could see what kind of Pokemon it was.

_"Mawile, the Deceiver Pokemon. It uses its docile-looking face to lull foes into complacency, then bites with its huge, relentless jaws."_

"A Mawile," Robert said. "Must've been the Pokemon the ranger was talking about before."

"She seems pretty pissed," I said. "Arcanine, front and center."

He padded forwards, growling at the Steel and Fairy type Pokemon. Mawile seemed unperturbed and took a step forward, the jaw hanging behind her head opening and closing slowly.

"Easy now," Robert took a slow step forwards, holding out his hands. "We're not going to hurt-"

Before he could finish, Mawile leaped. Arcanine appeared in front of Robert, body slamming Mawile away. She used her jaw to slow herself and leap back onto her feet. It then turned into iron as she lunged forwards, swinging her huge jaw. Arcanine let himself get hit, biting down on the jaw with fiery fangs. He swung her to the side and she winced in pain when she landed.

"Easy there buddy," I said. "We don't want to injure her too badly. Could you try telling her to stay away?"

Arcanine huffed and growled, a clear sign he thought that would be impossible.

"Look," I looked straight into Mawile's eyes. "We're not here to harm you nor any Pokemon for that matter. We're just looking around."

Her eyes burned with hatred as she bent low, ready to spring, but then closed her large jaws. She turned her head to the right, as if seeing past the many rocks jutting out of the ground. She darted away, weaving in-between the stones.

I had a feeling, a gut instinct telling me to follow.

I stood and took off, yelling back, "Come on!"

I tried to keep Mawile in sight, but I easily lost her. Frogadier leaped ahead of me, so I followed him. He bounced off stones, but kept within sight. I could hear everyone else behind me running and Alex caught up to me.

"Where are we going?" She asked as Robert came up on my other side, Chespin on his shoulder.

"I don't know," I said grimly. "But Mawile clearly wanted to rip us apart. If something was able to attract her attention away from us, I'm willing to bet it's something worse."

Frogadier came to a stop behind a stone, so we all slowed. I returned Arcanine as Alex returned Ninetales. My sixth sense was tingling, so I peered out from behind the rock next to Frogadier. Just fifty feet away, there were people. Three were dressed in brightly colored jumpsuits while one wore a black jumpsuit, his short black hair the only thing I could see.

"Radiance," I breathed. "What are they doing here?"

"Look," Alex pointed at the ground. I looked and realized there were a bunch of holes where stones should be.

I lifted my gaze back up and watched as one of the grunts placed a small circular device on one of the stones. The person in black pulled out a black laptop and began typing furiously. After a few seconds, he nodded and said something. The grunts nodded and one let out a Rhydon. Once directed, it began to heave the stone out of the ground.

"What are they doing?" Robert wondered.

"I don't know," I said, now looking at Mawile, who had perched herself on top of a stone. Her large jaws burst into flames as she leaped down, clamping down on Rhydon, flames spreading across his body. He let go of the stone, stumbling backwards, scattering the grunts and the person in black.

The guy, who I assumed was an admin or something, let out a Cofagrigus, who pinned Mawile down with ghostly hands. Rhydon got back up and punched her in the face.

"Let's go," I surged upwards along with Frogadier and Riolu. "Quick Attack!"

Both of my Pokemon burst forwards, Riolu slamming a foot into the side of Rhydon's head while Frogadier slammed a Water Pulse into the Ghost type. Mawile, once freed, launched herself backwards onto another stone.

The man turned as Frogadier and Riolu returned to my side. He had sharp features, his eyes a cold brown.

"So," he spoke in a cold, menacing tone. "I assume you're Zeno. I was told there was a possibility you would get in my way. I honestly didn't believe the chances of that."

"Never ignore the data," the ranger from earlier stepped out from behind a stone, her Pyroar at her side. "I told you he was here."

"And you said they would be preoccupied by the Mawile," he said, glaring at her. "Admit it, Team Radiance's top strategist was wrong."

She pressed a button on her watch and her body shimmered before settling on a woman with blue hair and black jumpsuit. "I'll admit, I had trusted that Mawile wouldn't come after us after she saw trainers."

"Of course," I said as Alex and Robert joined me. "It would be you, Kamake. I thought Team Radiance wasn't doing anything bad."

"We're not," Kamake waved her hand as her Pyroar morphed into Zoroark. "You had asked what Eve's endgame was, correct? She told you it wasn't region threatening. This isn't. We just need a couple stones."

"A couple," Alex nodded, looking around at all the holes. "Yeah, just a couple huh."

The man raised his hand and Cofagrigus inched forwards, but Kamake stepped beside him. "Don't do it, Enzo. You have the boss' orders. If we come into contact with Zeno, we are to leave."

She addressed me next. "We should have the minimal amount of stones now. We'll be taking our leave."

"Wait," I said as she turned away, struggling with myself at the moment. All my instincts were telling me to stop them, but why? "What purpose does Eve have with wanting these stones?"

Kamake glanced back at me as the grunts began packing up their equipment and hurrying off. "As of now, that is not your concern. Eve has told me to reassure you that her goal will not harm Kalos."

"So all we've got is your word," I said, eyes narrowed.

She nodded and began to walk off after Enzo. "She also said to be mindful of your true enemies, the ones lurking in the darkness. They're the main threat to Kalos."

With that, she was gone.

"Okay," Robert said. "We figured out who was stealing the stones. What are we going to do now?"

"Ignore them for now," I replied.

"Seriously?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "We know they can't be up to no good."

"We can't be sure of that," I admitted regrettably. "But we should learn more about the stones in this area. I said we would ignore them, but that doesn't mean we can't try to find out what they're trying to do. Whatever it is, it has to do with these stones, and only certain ones by the looks of it."

"Geosenge probably has something about them," Robert mused. "_Apparently quiet stones speak volumes _there."

"Then that's where we'll go," I said, then remembered something. I turned to look at Mawile, who was still atop the stone. She looked weak and bruised, like she was ready to fall over.

I came up to the stone. "You alright, Mawile?"

She glared at me and made to jump, but appeared to experience a sudden pain because she fell forwards.

"Hey now," I said, catching her in my arms, one hand holding her jaws. "You okay there?"

I looked back at Robert. "Potions, now."

But he was already ahead of me, tossing me a Hyper Potion. I sprayed Mawile's injuries as her eyelids fluttered. After a minute, her eyes shot open.

I smiled. "Hey there. You feel better?"

She leaped out of my arms, eyes narrowed. Then she felt her body, noticing she was healed. She looked at me curiously, but then darted away, disappearing amongst the stones once more.

"She seemed very appreciative," Alex remarked.

"It's fine," I said. "I'm just glad she's doing better."

I stood. "Let's get going. I know we'll have to stop for the night at some point, but I would prefer to be as close as possible to Geosenge. The sooner we have more information the better."

...

Mawile watched the trio of humans and their captured Pokemon leave. She always hated humans, how they romped around like they owned the place. They were always arrogant or up to something, like the people earlier. Many times she was almost captured in those red balls. Even when humans seemed nice, Mawile always knew what their true motive was. As a natural deceiver herself, she could tell when humans just wanted to enslave her.

Yet, she didn't feel that in that particular human. She could feel an inner darkness within him, yet he had genuinely cared, catching her when she fell and healing her. He didn't even want a thank you from her. Never before had she met a human quite like him. And his Pokemon, his Pokemon fought for him without hesitation. Many a times had she seen the way trainers treated their Pokemon, yet these Pokemon absolutely loved being with him, as well as with the other two humans.

"Just what kind of human are you?" Mawile wondered. She had to follow him. She had to know more about him and what made him so different from other humans.

**I hope you enjoyed the POV from Mawile. This will probably be the only time I'll do this, but if you all enjoyed it, maybe I could potentially do more, maybe with some other Pokemon next time. I'm not planning on doing that, but I could always do it for the story. Anyway, the people behind the disappearances of the stones have been revealed to be Team Radiance. I'm interested to see what kind of guesses you readers have for what you think they'll use the stones for. Until next chapter. Toodles**


	24. Chapter 23: A Meet-Up in Geosenge

"The atmosphere certainly feels old," Alex breathed in deeply. "You can just feel the history in the air."

"The houses are old looking as well," I said.

"We should look for a local library," Robert said. "That's the best place to find historical information."

We had entered through the stone gateway into the small town of Geosenge. It had a rich atmosphere, one that told many a story.

"We shouldn't need to stop at a Pokemon Center," I rubbed Frogadier's head. "So we can head straight for wherever the library would be."

We walked through the town, seeing people walking around, hanging up clothes to dry outside their homes, and three tall rocks jutting out of the ground in the center of town.

"What are those?" Alex wondered.

"They might have some connection to the rocks on Route 10," Robert suggested.

"Most likely," I said. "This town also has a wall of rocks surrounding it. Let's just hope the rocks really do speak volumes."

"Frog," Frogadier glanced towards some houses. I looked and saw another Frogadier there, coming around a corner.

"Another Frogadier," I said. "I wonder who it belongs to."

Coming around the corner behind the Frogadier was none other than Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie.

"Ash!" I called out to them. "Serena!"

They spotted us and hurried over, wide grins on their faces.

"Zeno," Ash said, clasping my hand. "It's been a while."

"Yeah it has," I grinned. "We haven't seen each other since the first gym. You too Serena. How's life as a trainer?"

"Oh, no," she waved her hand. "I'm not really a trainer. I've just been travelling with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie because it's fun. Pokemon battling isn't quite my area. Actually, I've been looking into Pokemon contests, so I might try that."

"Clemont," Robert greeted the blonde. "You have a second? I hear your a tech wiz on the online forums..."

He led him off to the side while Serena went to talk with Alex about the contests, Bonnie and her Dedenne tagging along.

"Seems like our friends are hitting off just fine," I remarked.

"Seems so," Ash grinned widely, then raised an eyebrow at me. "I take it you won the Cliff Badge?"

"Of course," I cocked my head, grinning. "But did _you_, Ketchum?"

He laughed, Pikachu jumping off his shoulders to say hi to both Frogadiers. "Heck yeah. Remember what we promised back at the Santalune Gym?"

I nodded, tossing a pokeball into the air and catching it in my palm. "While the others talk and whatnot, let's complete that promise."

"Let's move over there," Ash pointed to where there was an empty space between the three stones and the houses. "We should keep the battle toned down though."

"No problem," I said as we walked over there, Pikachu and our Frogadiers running ahead of us. "But you might need to restrain that Electric type of yours."

"Hah," Ash stopped while I kept walking. "I could say the same about your Arcanine."

Ash's Pikachu and Frogadier ran back to join their trainer as I stopped with Frogadier by my side. "We'll have to make this quick. Me and my friends have some business we have to take care of."

"Oh?" Ash grinned. "So do we. How many Pokemon do you have now?"

"Three," I said.

"Then three-on-three it is," Ash said confidently. "Let's go, Frogadier!"

His Frogadier leaped forward and my Frogadier was ready to spring forth as well.

I chuckled. "So you two have your own rivalry huh. Fine. Let's show them who's stronger!"

"Frogadier," Ash called out. "Water Pulse!"

His Frogadier leaped into the air, firing the sphere of water.

"Cut through it," I shouted. "And use Double Team!"

Frogadier leaped and used Cut to slash through the Water Pulse, dividing into a dozen Frogadiers.

"Two can play at that game," Ash adjusted his cap. "Double Team!"

Ash's own Frogadier split into more than a dozen and all of them sprung forwards.

"Use Cut!" Ash shot his hand forwards, blades forming in each Frogadiers' hand. They slashed through the copies, so I shouted, "Smokescreen!"

My Frogadier, the real one, leaped backwards, throwing something on the ground, a cloud of black smoke bursting into existence.

"Splash Water Pulse on the ground!" Ash commanded.

The copies disappeared, his Frogadier slamming a sphere of water within the smoke, the water dissipating it.

"Now use Cut!" Ash shouted.

"Strike him hard," I ordered. "Power-Up Punch!"

Frogadier's fist glowed and he leaped forwards, slamming it into Ash's Frogadier's stomach, blasting him backwards.

"Quick Attack!" I yelled.

Ash shot out his hand. "Cut!"

His Frogadier sprung forwards, swinging his blade.

"Use Cut as well!" I shouted.

Their blades clashed and both Frogadiers gritted their teeth. Both sprung back from one another, flying back at each other, their blades striking again and again, no blows being landed. But my Frogadier, who trained like his blade was a real knife, was more experienced than Ash's. He sliced the blade across Ash's Frogadier's chest, before kicking him away.

The enemy Frogadier stood on shaky legs, before launching himself forwards.

"Water Pulse!" Ash yelled.

Frogadier formed a sphere of water before slamming it into the side of Frogadier's head.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash roared.

"Block with Cut!" I shouted.

My Frogadier was shaking his head in confusion, a blade forming in his right hand, but he was too slow in raising it. Ash's Frogadier's foot came down on his head, slamming him into the dirt. We waited for a few seconds with no sign of Frogadier trying to stand.

"Alright!" Ash cheered, hugging Frogadier.

I walked up to my Pokemon and held him up off the ground slightly with one hand.

I smiled. "You did good. Seems like they managed to surpass us."

Frogadier croaked slightly, seeming to smile as well.

I grinned. "Next time. We'll grow stronger and beat him."

I returned him to his pokeball. When all was said and done, I would make a quick stop by the Pokemon Center. I just hoped it would be more of Ash's Pokemon needing to be healed.

"Alright then," I made my way back to my spot, unlatching Riolu's pokeball. "You ready Ash?"

"Stay in Frogadier," Ash said, then to me, "Heck yeah! Show me your new Pokemon."

"Let's go!" I shouted, throwing out the Fighting type.

"A Riolu," Ash sounded impressed. "This should be interesting. Water Pulse!"

"Bullet Punch!" I yelled.

Riolu shot forwards, his fists a blur as he punched his way through the Water move. He then struck Frogadier repeatedly in the face, before grazing his palm against the Water type's chest. Electricity sparked and Frogadier was blasted backwards as Riolu's palm shot backwards.

Frogadier collapsed on the ground, fainted. Ash returned him and spoke a few words into the pokeball. No doubt similar to what I had said to my own. Then he sent out a Fletchinder, who hovered above the battlefield, awaiting orders.

"Be wary Riolu," I warned. "This isn't a good match-up."

"Wing Attack!" Ash yelled. With a cry, Fletchinder wings glowed and he soared towards Riolu.

"Force Palm the ground!" I shouted.

Riolu slammed his palm on the ground, the blast of electricity and the force of the slam blasted Riolu into the sky.

"Hail of bullets!" I roared.

Riolu descended fast, blasting Fletchinder with a flurry of punches. The Flying type crashed to the ground as Riolu landed atop him.

"Force Palm!" I shouted.

"Flame Charge!" Ash yelled.

Fletchinder's body burst into flames and Riolu was forced to jump away. The Flying type flew back into the sky, circling back around to head straight for Riolu, picking up speed.

"Prepare to use Counter!" I commanded.

An orange aura enveloped Riolu, turning red when Fletchinder struck him.

"NOW!" I shouted.

Riolu leaped at Fletchinder, bringing his foot down and slamming Fletchinder into the ground with an incredible show of strength.

"Razor Wind!" Ash yelled.

A fierce gust blew up from the Flying type, sending Riolu into the air.

"After him with Flame Charge!" Ash ordered.

"Fire," I thought. "Fine then."

"Riolu!" I shouted. "Concentrate with all your might!"

Riolu seemed to understand as he closed his eyes while still in the air, Fletchinder speeding towards him. First, an ember, then flames roared around Riolu's foot.

"Fight fire with fire!" I shouted. "Don't lose concentration! Blaze Kick!"

The flames threatened to race up Riolu, but he held them back as he swung his leg down, he and Fletchinder slamming into each other. Flames blasted from them and both Pokemon were flung from each other. After crashing to the ground, neither got up. As I returned Riolu, I noted that his flames had only managed to slightly burn him.

"You'll make it," I promised. "One day you'll master that move."

"This is it," I said, letting out Arcanine. "Let's see how strong we've gotten."

"That's right," Ash held out his arm, Pikachu leaping off his hand and onto the battlefield. "Thunderbolt!"

"Flamethrower!" I shouted.

The two moves collided, creating a small explosion, blowing up a dust cloud from the ground.

"Flame Wheel!" I yelled.

"Volt Tackle!" Ash roared.

Arcanine spun into a wheel of fire and shot towards Pikachu, who ran at him like a bullet.

"Veer left and use Heat Wave!" I commanded. "Then Extreme Speed!"

Arcanine evaded Pikachu at the last moment, springing out from the wheel and blasting a wave of heat towards Pikachu.

"Discharge!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu came to a sudden stop and a dome of electricity sprang up from him, counteracting the Heat Wave. Then Arcanine was behind him. He slammed into Pikachu, sending him flying.

"Keep at it!" I yelled.

"Thunder!"

Pikachu's cheeked sparked while still in the air, storm clouds gathering above him. Several bolts of lightning struck the earth, one of them managing to hit Arcanine, blasting him backwards.

"That's the strongest Thunder I've ever seen," I breathed, eyes wide. "Arcanine, Flare Blitz!"

Arcanine howled and flames sparked from his pelt. He shot forwards, streams of fire trailing behind him.

"Meet him with Volt Tackle!" Ash yelled.

Electricity surged from Pikachu as he streamed towards his opponent. The two collided with a loud explosion with both Pokemon turning around swiftly after impact.

"Fire Fang!"

"Iron Tail!"

Pikachu leaped up, swinging his Iron Tail, but Arcanine grabbed it in his flaming jaws and swung him away.

"Extreme Speed!" I shouted.

Arcanine slammed Pikachu further away before he could hit the ground.

"Discharge!" Ash yelled.

Before Pikachu struck the ground, a sphere of electricity burst from him, lifting him higher as the electricity struck Arcanine.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash roared.

"Pikachuuuuuu!"

"Flamethrower!"

The two moves collided once more, but Pikachu's Thunderbolt seemed stronger this time, pushing the flames back. The Thunderbolt struck Arcanine, blasting him backwards. He rolled to a stop near me, fainted.

"Woo!" Ash cheered. "Looks like it's my victory!"

I knelt and returned Arcanine. "Man, his Pikachu is really something else isn't he. Looks like we just have to get stronger."

"Great battle!" Serena called, running over to Ash along with Bonnie.

"Lost?" Alex raised an eyebrow, coming over. "To think you made it to the finals in the Pokemon League."

"A Pokemon League," I corrected. "Ash has made it to many. It's only natural that his Pikachu is stronger than Arcanine. They've journeyed for years now."

"Still," Alex smirked. "Your rival is stronger than you."

I grinned, walking over to Ash and Serena. "That's why he's my rival."

I clasped hands with him. "You've shown me I have much to improve on. Thanks."

"I may have won," Ash grinned. "But I learned a lot too. Want to head over to the Pokemon Center together?"

I shrugged. "Why not?"

Serena looked around. "Where did Clemont and Robert go?"

"They went on ahead to the Center," Alex said. "They were messing around with Robert's Holo Caster last I remember."

I shared a glance with her. From what we knew, Clemont was a tech wiz, and Robert needed help with the Holo Caster.

I turned to Ash. "Sycamore said you all were willing to help track down whoever made Garchomp turn wild."

He nodded. "I assume you are too?"

"Yeah," I confirmed. "After we drop off our Pokemon, we should compare notes."

Ash nodded. "Agreed."

...

"So," I asked Robert. "What were you two doing exactly?"

"Remember when I hacked Lysandre's Holo Caster?" Robert asked. I nodded and he went on. "Well, just a couple days ago I've been getting weird encrypted messages. I tried to hack them, but to no avail. So I asked Clemont."

Clemont pushed his glasses up further. "It was quite interesting really. They all seemed to be messages between this "Team Flare"."

"Lysandre?" Alex asked.

Robert nodded. "Yeah, as far as I can tell, he's part of their group. Most likely the leader. He seemed to be giving orders out. We've only managed to crack a few, but they all seemed to involve the stones."

"The ones on Route 10?" Ash asked and we nodded. "So you guys were going to investigate those too?"

"Looks like it," I nodded. "Since they've been getting stolen by Team Radiance, we thought it would be good to know their history."

"Wait," Serena held up a hand. "Team Radiance?"

"We have a lot to talk about," I said. "But we can get to that later."

"Yeah," Robert said. "The messages didn't talk about much, just about trying to locate the stones and the ones who stole them. There was also something about a Power Plant."

"Power Plant?" I wondered.

"They're probably talking about the one on Route 13," Clemont explained. "Something about a future mission involving it."

"That should be our next destination then," Ash decided. "Whatever they're planning, it can't be good."

"Agreed," I looked at him. "We all came here to do the same thing right? Why not help each other out?"

"That's a great idea," Serena piped up and Ash nodded. "Couldn't hurt."

"Oh, right," Robert stood. "We found where the library was. Follow me."

...

After researching in the library for a couple hours, we all met back at the Pokemon Center.

"Geez," Ash groaned. "So long, yet so little gained."

"All we got was stuff about it being an important battle site for the war between Kalos and Galar 3000 years ago," I said, rubbing my eyes.

"Supposedly they're all grave markers," Alex said. "To honor those who fell in that battle."

"And that's all she wrote," Robert sighed. "What a waste."

"What's next then?" Serena asked.

I shared a glance with Ash. "Where's the Power Plant located again?"

"Route 13," Clemont said. "Since you and Ash are doing the gyms, it'll be right after you get your fourth gym badge."

"I'd like to get their quicker," I rubbed my hair. "Did it say when the mission would take place?"

"Not for at least another week at least," Clemont said. "We should be there around that time."

"Good," Ash stretched. "We can meet each other there once we're both done getting our gym badges."

"For now," he grinned. "Let's get some sleep. I'm exhausted after all we did today. We can go our separate ways in the morning."

With that, we all began heading to rooms in the Pokemon Center to sleep. Before I did though, I glanced outside. I felt like something was watching me closely, but I couldn't see what. Whatever it was, I was pretty sure it didn't have a malicious intent. It seemed more curious. Shrugging, I made my way to my room.

**Since I've finished with the first book of TMR, I can focus more on this. But, before that, I kinda want to get another chapter of Pokemon Dark for next weekend. We'll see if I can actually do that. Anyway, besides that, toodles**


	25. Chapter 24: Personal Reflection

I walked on the stone sidewalk as rain poured down buckets. Drops of water dripped down my hat, the chilly air of the new year seeping through my trench. I lifted my gaze, looking through the rain and darkness to see my target.

Caren Wright. Age 39. Former Team Rocket Executive. Thought to have been dead for ten years. Now Giovanni wanted her dead. I felt the gun in my inside pocket, feeling a sort of comfort when I gripped the handle slightly. I withdrew the hand a second later. Now wasn't the time.

I hid myself in the shadows when Caren stopped twenty feet ahead of me. She looked around before climbing the steps up to her house amongst all the others. She unlocked her door and slipped inside before shutting it. I went up to the door and slipped a key into the lock. Turning it, I stepped inside the open door. When I closed it, the thrum of the rain faded away to background noise.

It was dark in the entrance hallway and there was a rain soaked coat hanging on a rack. The lights turned on and I turned my gaze to look at Caren. She had long white hair and sharp blue eyes. She wore her old white Team Rocket uniform and appeared to be alone, several pokeballs on her belt. A hallway was to her left and the kitchen to the right.

She regarded me with a cold look. "Giovanni's son. I knew he would end up sending you after me once he found out I was still among the living."

I smirked. "Yet you still let me in the house. Basic mistake."

She sniffed. "Unlikely. You may look like Giovanni, but only he could beat me. You're nothing."

She lifted her head slightly. "How did he even realize I was still alive?"

I shrugged. "We decided to go through old files. We investigated the ones who had suspicious deaths and one of them lead me here."

"Fair enough," Caren nodded. "But you know you won't be leaving here alive."

"On the contrary," I said, reaching a hand into my trench. "I'll be perfectly fine."

For a second, we just stared at one another. Then I flung myself towards the kitchen as a Gengar flew down from the ceiling above. He turned towards me, flinging a ball of shadows at me. Withdrawing a pokeball, I leaped to the side, staring straight at Caren who just stood and watched.

I was in her living room now, so now I had room. I clicked the pokeball and Charizard appeared. His head brushed the ceiling as he roared at the Gengar, flames licking at the corners of his mouth.

"We could've done this the easy way," I reminded Caren. "You chose this."

She grinned widely, a hint of madness in that smile. "Bring it kid. Let's see what Giovanni's spawn is made of!"

"Let loose!" I roared.

Charizard lunged forwards, flames roaring around him, setting the surrounding area ablaze as he crashed into the wall where Gengar had been. Smoke quickly filled the room and Caren was no longer in sight. I jumped over Charizard's tail as he managed to get a hold on the Ghost type, claws elongating. I walked down the hallway, holding my trench with one hand to block the smoke while pulling out my gun with the other.

One door stood at the end of the hallway, slightly ajar. I kicked it open and immediately swung myself behind the wall as a gunshot rang out. I heard several loud crashing noises as Gengar was slammed through the front door and out in the rain. I breathed slowly, before tossing a smoke bomb into the room. Instantly it filled with smoke, mixing with the smoke from the fire. It was thick and heavy, but I stepped into the room regardless. I ducked as another gunshot rang out, then stepped to the side. I aimed and fired, something sparking now.

I walked up to it to see an automated gun turret. Small and poor quality, but perfect for distractions. I flung my trench off as I dropped low and swung my leg out behind me, nearly tripping Caren. Her boot swung forwards and I just managed to swing myself backwards. I swung a knife from my belt and flung it, the blade grazing Caren's cheek. I stood and took several steps backwards, the smoke obscuring me. I felt a window behind me with my hand and smashed it with the gun.

I sensed Caren taking aim, only for the wall behind me to get ripped apart, the sound of the rain louder once more. A wall of fire sprung up in front of me, separating me from Caren. I stepped onto her wet lawn as her roof began collapsing. The fire had spread to all the nearby houses despite the constant downpour of rain.

I felt Charizard pull me back as Gengar popped up from beneath the ground under my feet. I landed on my feet as Charizard swung his wing, Gengar dodging. Another gunshot rang out as a small hole appeared next to me. I glanced up to see Caren walking out of the burning house, fire raging behind her. Her clothes were charred and she seemed to be burned in several places.

I heard a roar of pain and I glanced to see Charizard stumbling backwards as his left eye bled and the blood smeared by the rain.

"Son of Giovanni," Caren cocked her head slightly, eyes wide with madness. "I barely got out of Team Rocket, my sanity barely left intact."

She grinned as she lifted her gun. "You're young. One day you'll realize you want out, but by then, it'll be too late. You can never truly escape Team Rocket."

She squeezed her handle tighter. "I seemed to be unable to at any rate."

She pressed down on the trigger and a gunshot rang out. Her body collapsed onto her lawn, her gun tumbling out of her hand. An explosion and a roar of triumph. I looked to see Charizard raking his claws along Gengar's body, drawing blood, then flinging the Ghost type into the burning buildings. People and Pokemon were scrambling around in the darkness as sirens filled the night.

I climbed onto Charizard and he shot into the sky. I rubbed his head, checking his wound. His left eye was swollen shut and blood still streaming from it.

"I'll get you fixed up," I promised. "Though you may not see out of that eye again."

He snorted and lifted his head further into my hand, apparently not caring as long as I was safe. Suddenly, the air seemed to distort around us. Cracking noises and the rain seemed to glow. Charizard just kept flying and I shielded my eyes as the sky broke around me. I saw something in front of me before everything shattered.

...

My eyes shot open. The first thing I noticed was that I was in a cave. Second thing, I was no longer wet from the rain. I went to stand and immediately felt shaky. I collapsed to my knees, breathing heavily. I heard something move behind me and on instinct I went to grab the gun I kept inside my trench, only to realize I was no longer wearing it. I then noticed I was wearing black sleeveless gloves, which I was pretty sure I wasn't wearing before.

Another noise and I turned to see a Mawile staring at me curiously. She seemed to be concerned. I glanced behind her to see the side of the cave wall. Shattered glass seemed to litter the ground and a section of the wall was broken, shards of glass still sticking out from the stone.

Everything came back to me. Alex, Robert, and I had woken up in the Pokemon Center to find out Ash and the others had gone ahead of us. We had left Geosenge and entered Reflection Cave. I faintly remembered seeing a Charizard, one with an eye patch over his left eye, so I had ran after it. I remembered seeing him walk into a mirror of sorts, so I tried to follow, then nothing.

I remembered the burning buildings, Caren, how she shot herself in the head.

I sighed. "So he wasn't real."

Mawile considered me and I looked at her. "You're the same one from Route 10 aren't you."

She didn't respond, but I could tell it was her. I glanced back at the shattered mirror and realized it was a sort of reflective crystal.

"I don't know what happened," I said, getting to my feet and picking up a shard. "But I feel like I need to thank you, Mawile."

She looked surprised and I smiled. "Whatever happened to me, you freed me. Thank you."

Her eyes widened a little before she looked away.

I sat down again, still feeling a bit shaky. For whatever reason, those memories seemed to be sharper than I had ever experienced before. Another reminder of who I was in my past.

"Maw?" Mawile was regarding me carefully. I had a feeling she could sense something was troubling me. Pokemon had a knack for that.

"Look," I said, staring at the crystals growing out of the cave ceiling. "You're opinion of humans seems to be low, which I can't blame you. A lot of us are terrible people. And only a few try their hardest to change. I'm one of those. I've struggled for a while to get rid of my past, but I had to accept it. Accept who I was. What I had done to so many people and Pokemon. I thought I had finally gotten past everything, but this darkness in Kalos, I think it brought back memories."

I gripped a fist. "I think it's time to reevaluate myself. If I am to be the Hero Born of Darkness again and save Kalos from this Chaos, I have to accept myself once more. I have to know what lines I will never cross again. Despite what I have lost, who I have failed to save, I can't let the darkness overwhelm me again."

"So thank you again," I stood and looked down at Mawile. "For helping me. Kalos is going to need me, whether I like it or not. I will stop the Cult of Chaos, and anyone else who threatens people and Pokemon. I can't ask you to help, but..."

I knelt down, looking into her red eyes. "You followed me from Route 10. I don't know what you think of me, but you saved me. And you have a strong sense of justice."

I held out a hand. "Will you join me? I don't know what you truly seek from me, but I promise to help you however I can, for thanks of helping me."

Mawile gazed at my hand, before tenderly putting hers in my own.

I smiled. "The people from Route 10. I don't know what their true motive is just yet, or if what they're planning is truly diabolical, but let's find out together."

Mawile smiled and I tapped her head slightly with a pokeball. She was sucked into it and the ball shook for a couple seconds, before blinking green. I stood and clipped the ball to my belt.

"Once we're out of this cave, we can reacquaint ourselves," I promised. "For now, I need to find my friends."

As I walked down the only tunnel, I remembered Caren's words.

"I never did truly escape Team Rocket," I murmured. "In fact, I ended up going right back to them. All for naught it seems. I wasn't able to change Giovanni nor was I able to help those who needed it."

"But I will save Kalos," I felt my determination solidify. "I will save all the people and Pokemon. No one else will end up like Mira. No more deaths, no more sacrifices. I promise, as the Hero Born of Darkness."

**I know I said in the last chapter I wanted to get another chapter of Dark out, but since it's been three weeks since my last update, I decided getting this out was probably best. And sorry for the long absence. Getting sick with the flu was unavoidable, but it's my fault for getting distracted by Pokemon Shield. But hey, it was a great game. Now the little references I can make will actually have stuff behind them. Anyway, I might focus on this or Dark, who knows. Besides that, I'm back. Toodles**


	26. Chapter 25: A Champion Time

I blinked as I finally made it out of Reflection Cave. The sun shone brightly and I surveyed the city I was now in.

"Hey, you made it!"

I turned to see Robert and Alex heading towards me.

Alex reached me first. "Why'd you run off like that!? Where were you!?"

"It's fine," I assured her. "I'm alright. See?"

I took a step back and held out my arms. She surveyed me and relaxed a little.

"What happened then?" Robert asked.

I glanced back into the cave. "I thought I saw something. I guess I ended up having a dream or something involving my past."

I held up a pokeball. "With Mawile's help though, I was able to get out of it."

"Wait," Alex stared at the pokeball. "Mawile?"

I nodded. "The very same one from Route 10. She was curious about me apparently."

I clicked the ball and Mawile appeared between us. She blinked her eyes and glared slightly at Alex and Robert before moving closer to me.

"It's alright," I said, kneeling. "They're my friends. They're good people. We're all working to stop whoever wishes to do Kalos harm."

Mawile gave me a side-glance, then nodded.

"So," I stood. "Shalour City huh."

From where we stood, we were on a hill overlooking the city. The path merged into a road that weaved down the hill, shops and houses on the sides. Eventually it led to the beach and just offshore was a huge tower.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing.

"The Tower of Mastery," Robert answered. "We did some information finding while we waited for you to return. The tower acts as the gym for this city as well as holding information on mega evolution. Someone named the Guru lives there."

"Guru," I said. "Sycamore mentioned him. He said we could learn about mega evolution from him."

"That would be cool," Alex said. "We've seen it before, but I wonder if any of my Pokemon could use it?"

"We can ask," I said. "But how do we get there with the tide up."

"We asked," Alex said. "It should be down tomorrow morning."

"So we get a whole day to relax," I said. "What should we do?"

Just then, the sound of an explosion rang out.

"What the!?" Robert looked around wildly.

"There," Alex pointed at the beach, where people had gathered. Two trainers it seemed were battling on the beach. One of them wore white and seemed very familiar.

"Diantha," I realized. "The champion is having a battle!"

"We gotta go see," Robert looked excited. "This is a great opportunity to see how she commands her Pokemon."

He took off and Alex and I followed close behind, equally thrilled. It was likely the same for Alex as it was for me, the desire to know Diantha's battling style so that one day, we could win against her.

It didn't take us long to reach the beach, but when we did, I could tell they were on their last Pokemon. Both trainers looked like they were going all out. Both Diantha and the guy in the cape.

Diantha was using her Gardevoir, not even giving her verbal commands, yet Gardevoir was still battling exceptionally well and holding her own against the other trainer's Charizard.

"Fire Blast!" The trainer with the cape yelled. The fire move shot towards Gardevoir, who blasted a Moonblast into it, scattering the flames with an explosion. Wind blew back the trainer's long purple hair, almost blowing off his cap.

I looked back at Diantha. I watched her closely, then realized whenever her eyes shifted, Gardevoir moved in that same direction. Gardevoir was also a psychic type. It would make sense for the champion to utilize her Pokemon's psychic abilities to communicate commands instead of voicing them aloud.

Charizard flew forwards, glowing claws slashing so fast they were a blur. Gardevoir nimbly dodged each attack, before unleashing a dazzling glow that was so bright it knocked Charizard back a step. Then the Fairy type's fist sparked with electricity and she slammed it on the underside of the Fire type's chin. He was knocked up and fell on his back.

A second passed, then the flame on his tail grew in intensity. He swung it, the flames blasting Gardevoir backwards and he flipped himself into the air, slashing his wings in front of him. The air was sliced as the wind slammed into Gardevoir. She shook herself and her eyes glowed pink for a second, then it was gone. She held up her hand and a ball of flames formed, glowing slightly pink. She blasted it at Charizard, who flew above it and soared towards Gardevoir, his wings glowing. She disappeared, then reappeared to the side, sending glowing leaves towards the Fire type. The leaves spun around him, forcing him to stop to blast them with a Flamethrower. The air above him rippled and a rift appeared, blasting magical energy down onto him. Then Gardevoir was there, slamming a Moonblast into his chest, blasting him backwards. Her eyes glowed and a pink aura surrounded Charizard. He was lifted into the sky before slammed back down on the ground. The aura pulsed before it collapsed in on him, causing him to roar in pain. Gardevoir teleported next to him, planting a kiss on his head, causing him to faint as Gardevoir healed a bit of her injuries.

The crowd cheered loudly as I just watched, amazed.

"That battle," I breathed. "It was incredible. Such a show of raw strength of two powerful Pokemon going at it."

"I know what you mean," Alex looked out of breath.

"So this is what two champions battling looks like," Robert rubbing his mouth, probably trying to remember every last detail of the battle we just saw.

"Wait," I looked at him. "Two champions?"

The man with the cap had pulled it down to cover his face, but then straightened it, grinning widely, golden eyes sparkling.

"Champion Diantha," he and her met in the center of their battlefield upon the sand. "This was certainly a champion time! I do hope we can do this more often."

He shook her hand and she smiled warmly. "I wish that too. But is your region willing to open itself up more?"

He grinned. "Of course. As champion of Galar, I want to do what's best for it. I want to open ourselves up to the world. Not to mention all the strong trainers that might show up in Galar."

Diantha chuckled. "It's just an excuse to battle more isn't it?"

The other champion grinned proudly. "That's just a bonus."

A news reporter hurried up to them, her cameraman right behind her. "If you champions wouldn't mind, could we get a quick word on your battle? What does the Kalos Champion winning going to mean for Galar's reputation?"

The Galarian Champion stepped forwards, eyes on the camera. "Absolutely nothing. Our match was just a bout to test one another's different strengths."

Diantha stood next to him. "I second that. Besides, Champion Leon was certainly a tough opponent. He could easily win next time we battle. His and his Pokemon's strength might even be better than mine and Gardevoir's."

"This battle was also to show that Galar is willing to open itself up more," Leon said. "We won't let our history with other regions keep us holed up, especially with Kalos. We hope we can start building a wonderful relationship with this beautiful region. That is all."

The reporter seemed overjoyed for just getting that amount of information, so she left with her cameraman without complaint.

Leon waved at the crowd. "Thank you, people of Kalos, for cheering us on! I'm grateful you all have welcomed me here with open arms."

The crowd cheered again.

Leon and Diantha went to their Pokemon to heal them and the crowd began to disperse, some heading back into the city while others just went a little further away to continue watching them. Soon, the three of us were the only ones left.

"Diantha," I called as we headed over.

She looked up, her Gardevoir freshly healed. "Ah, you three. I've been meaning to check up on your progress."

I shared a look with my friends. "Yeah, we have a lot to talk to you about."

Diantha nodded in understanding. "We can do it over lunch then. It is about that time. Leon?"

She turned to look at him and his Charizard, who stood strong now. "As a fellow champion, I feel it appropriate to give you some hospitality."

He grinned. "Me and Charizard would love to."

"Plus," he studied us three with eagerness. "You three seem like strong trainers. "I'd love to get to know you all."

"Then it's settled," Diantha nodded. "I have a restaurant cleared out for the next couple hours. We can dine there without being bothered."

Gardevoir was eyeing the pokeballs clipped to my belt, which Diantha noticed. "Not now, Gardevoir. Wait until we get there."

Her Pokemon nodded, leaving me confused.

...

"First order of business," Diantha said as we had just ordered our food. "I heard from Professor Sycamore you're taking care of a 'special' Froakie?"

I nodded. "Frogadier now, yeah."

Diantha nodded at my pokeball. "Can I see him."

"Sure," I said, letting Frogadier out. He glanced between us all, then noticed Gardevoir and Charizard, both probably giving off powerful auras, since he seemed wary of them. Gardevoir walked up to him, knelt, and placed a hand on his head. Her eyes glowed pink, I assuming she was using her psychic energy for something. I trusted Diantha enough to know this was harmless, but I still had no idea what was going on.

After a minute, Gardevoir stepped back and looked at her trainer. Diantha let out a breath of relief and smiled. "Good. He's been in good care, not that I doubted you Zeno, but I had to make sure."

"Yeah, of course," I agreed. "Though, he only does have around a month to live."

Frogadier put his hand on my leg, staring at me with confidence. I smiled and rubbed his head.

"Hmm," Leon had his chin on his hands, which were propped up by his elbows. "I thought you're Frogadier was different. He's shiny, right?"

"Yeah," I confirmed. "That's why I'm taking on the Pokemon League. I want to give him a life worth living before, you know..."

"That's wonderful," Leon smiled sadly. "I wish you two the best of luck on your journey."

Diantha nodded, then turned to the three of us. "Now, you have more information then."

Alex looked at me, and I nodded. My face must've been pained, because she looked sympathetic.

"Yes," Alex said. "We're still not sure how this ties into what happened to Garchomp though. It might just be a totally separate thing, but they're incredibly dangerous. To all of Kalos."

"Who?" Talk of danger to Kalos brought out her serious side.

"A cult," Robert answered. "The Cult of Chaos. We ran into them the day after we dealt with Team Flare with you. They kidnapped several people, including us. They..."

He seemed to be having trouble finding the words, so I said, "Human sacrifices."

Leon sucked in a breath and Diantha's eyes narrowed. "What?"

Alex was about to speak for me, but I put a hand on her shoulder. "Its fine. I can do this."

She studied me for a second before nodding. I turned to Diantha. "They worship an entity knows as Chaos. Or the All-Powerful One as they call her. They plan to sacrifice people to bring Chaos here, to Kalos. They murdered a little girl in front of me, her blood the first of many to come."

I felt my gaze harden. "I will find them again and I will stop their plans."

Diantha looked deeply troubled. "I heard that some people had gone missing in Ambrette Town after the body of the Pokemon Center's Nurse Joy was found. I'm guessing that was them?"

Alex nodded. "We figured it would be best to not panic Kalos by talking about this."

"Wise call," Diantha said. "But I might have to become public with this soon. If they can't be found soon, we need all of Kalos on high alert. I also don't think it would be a good idea to have you three involved anymore. This is starting to become dangerous-"

"No," I cut her off. "We have a role in this now. They want me as a special sacrifice, so I can't just back out now. Besides, we've dealt with danger before. Did you hear about the incident in Alola six months ago?"

Diantha nodded, but Leon was the one who spoke. "I saw that on the news. Alola was pretty much brought to ruin. Apparently something was going to destroy all of Alola, but it was stopped by a trainer who gave up his life."

"Yeah," I looked down at the table. "That was me."

I brought my gaze back up. "You probably heard Alola mention something about the Hero Born of Darkness. That's me as well. It wasn't just me though. Alex and Robert both were a major part in what went down in Alola. We all saved the region, along with many others."

"What I'm getting at," I said. "Is that we're capable of handling ourselves. With all due respect Diantha, even if you told us to leave this alone, we wouldn't. We can't just sit back and do nothing."

Diantha sighed. "I see. Fine then. I will allow you three to continue to help. But I want you to be extra careful."

We all nodded.

"Was there anything else you needed to tell me?" Diantha asked.

"The stones," Robert said. "We found out who were taking the stones from Route 10."

"Team Radiance," Diantha nodded. "Lysandre managed to find out. But we don't know why."

"Neither do we," I said. "But..."

I shared a glance with my friends. They looked unsure, so I decided to say it. "We managed to hack some messages we found from Team Flare. Something about a mission involving Kalos' Power Plant."

Diantha grimaced. "Just one thing after another then. Great."

"That's not all," I hesitated, then continued. "We discovered Lysandre has been communicating with them. We surmised that he's their leader."

Diantha's eyes widened, but she tried to remain composure. "Evidence?"

Robert handed over his Holo Caster and Diantha scrolled through it, her eyebrows knitting together. She handed it back after a couple minutes, seemingly exhausted. "I'll look into this more. If you meet him again, do not tell him you know anything. He can't know that we're onto him."

"If there's anything I can do to help..." Leon offered, but Diantha shook her head.

"I appreciate the offer," she said. "But this is Kalos' problem, not Galar's. If there wasn't anything else you three needed to tell me, I say we start eating."

...

As we left the restaurant, Leon turned to me. "I can tell you're a strong trainer just by looking at you. I wish I could battle you, but I have a schedule I have to stick to today. So here, take this. I think I can trust you with it since you're taking care of that Frogadier."

He handed me a pokeball. "That there holds a Pokemon native to Galar. I hope you two become great friends."

He waved to us as he got onto his Charizard. "Thanks for the wonderful battle and meal. Maybe I'll see you trainers again one day. And make sure to have a Champion Time during your journey!"

His Charizard flapped his wings hard as he took off into the sky.

Diantha smiled. "He's a young and energetic champion. Hopefully Kalos and Galar will build a strong relationship with one another."

She turned to us. "Here, have something I found a while back."

She held out a small marble shaped object and I grabbed it. I stared at the orange patterns within it.

"Is that a Mega Stone!?" Robert's eyes were wide.

"I don't know," Diantha admitted. "Ask the guru tomorrow when you go to challenge the gym. He'll know."

"Stay safe trainers," Diantha said. "Please, don't be reckless."

We nodded. "We'll be fine."

She smiled. "Good. Goodbye then."

We waved her goodbye as she walked down the street, Gardevoir by her side. I tucked the stone into my pocket and shrunk the pokeball onto my belt. I could check what Pokemon lay inside later.

"What should we do now?" I asked.

"How about we go to the beach," Alex suggested. "Unwind from our travels."

"That sounds like bliss," Robert nodded.

I smiled. "Then let's go."

Together, we all headed to the beach, the rest of the day ahead of us.

**Two weeks again without an update. So sorry. School's been keeping me busy. On the plus side, I've already introduced the first Galar character, Champion Leon. Plus, he gave Zeno a Pokemon from Galar. I want you all to guess what he got. In other news, I was planning on putting the first chapter for TMR's sequel up around Christmas, but considering I haven't updated a whole lot recently, I might push that into 2020. More likely than not. I need to focus on getting more of this out, plus another chapter of Dark, which I would say about a fourth of it is done. Besides that, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Toodles**


	27. Chapter 26: Taking on Mega Evolution

"It's locked," Alex tugged on the handle slightly. "That's weird. I guess the gym's not open at the moment."

"It is still morning," Robert said. "Maybe they don't open until after lunch."

"We can always go check the Tower of Mastery itself," I said, pointing back the way we had came. We had woken up to see that the path to the island where the Tower of Mastery and the gym was located was now able to be crossed. We had come over once we filled our stomachs, but the gym appeared to be closed.

"Hello!?" I called out as we walked into the Tower of Mastery. The tower looked old, but it seemed to be maintained well. A ramp started at one end of the circular area, leading up and around, going all the way up the tower. And in the center, standing at least 50 feet high, was a statue of a Mega Lucario. The pedestal he stood upon was 7 feet high by itself with a door facing us. Upon it was a symbol.

"The Mega Evolution symbol," Robert said, going up to it and rubbing his hand across it.

"Indeed."

We turned to see an old man standing in the entrance to the tower. He had a path of pale blonde hair on top of his bald head, his eyebrows ridiculously long. He wore a sort of track suit, the Mega symbol emblazoned on his heart.

"Welcome," he smiled. "To the Tower of Mastery, youngsters. I assume you're the others sent by Professor Sycamore."

"Ash and the others were already here then?" Alex asked.

He nodded. "I am Gurkinn, commonly known as the Mega Evolution Guru. Sycamore said he sent two groups of trainers my way, seeking the knowledge of Mega Evolution. He must think very highly of you three. He normally doesn't tell trainers about me. Mega Evolution isn't for anyone to use, nor can all Pokemon possess the ability. Only those with a strong enough bond with their Pokemon can fully unlock the full potential of it."

He chuckled as he moved past us. "That Ash kid, he had the nerve to say he couldn't accept my offer of a mega ring."

"Really?" that surprised me. From what I knew of Ash, he always wanted to get stronger.

Gurkinn nodded. "He proved himself worthy to posses it when he faced my granddaughter, Korrina. She's the gym leader of this city. He thoroughly beat Mega Evolution without using it himself. He decided that he wouldn't need the power of Mega Evolution to beat anyone using it. It's for the best anyway. With the Pokemon he has currently, he couldn't mega evolve them if he wanted to."

He stood in front of the door. "I will not say if any of you could use Mega Evolution or not. Not until you have proven yourselves worthy."

We heard a noise behind us and a girl zoomed in on roller skates. She spun a circle around us once before stopping beside Gurkinn. She wore a white and red dress skirt with black shorts beneath. She had a long blonde ponytail poking out from the back of her helmet, bangs shooting out from the front.

"Hey there trainers," she waved while grinning. "My name's Korrina. I'm the gym leader of Shalour City and a wielder of Mega Evolution."

She jerked a thumb at herself. "Beat me, and you'll be able to possibly wield it yourself."

Gurkinn smiled. "My granddaughter is quite energetic as you can see. But if any of you wish to learn of Mega Evolution, you must first beat Korrina."

Korrina looked riddled with excitement, so I stepped forwards. "Then I'll challenge you first."

She grinned widely. "Then meet me at my gym."

She zoomed past us and out of the tower.

"Good luck trainers," Gurkinn said. "I'll be waiting."

He turned around and disappeared behind the green door.

"Man," Robert sighed. "This blows. I was kinda hoping to get Mega Evolution, but I guess I don't really need it anyway."

Alex patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. If either Zeno or me can use it, we'll make sure you can get plenty of data for Professor Juniper."

"That's right," I said. "I'm pretty sure I can though. Having Riolu and all."

"True," Robert perked up. "You guys better get me good data."

Alex and I chuckled. "No problem."

...

I stepped onto the dirt battlefield of the gym, Alex, Robert, and Frogadier sitting in the stands. He would be sitting out this match, as I wanted to break in some new Pokemon to battling. Korrina stood at the other end of the battlefield, tossing a pokeball in the air then catching it. The referee stood off to the side.

He raised his hand. ""The gym battle between Zeno the challenger and Korrina the Shalour Gym Leader will now begin! Each side will have the use of three Pokemon and the battle will be over when either trainer's Pokemon are unable to continue! Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon!"

"Greetings Challenger Zeno," Korrina smiled. "I've heard quite a bit about you from Viola and Grant. Well, you and Alex, but I was told to watch out for your clever tricks. I already battled Ash and boy did he know how to battle."

She pointed her pokeball at me. "After that, I'm ready for anything you have to throw at me. So, bring it on!"

"Will do," I unclipped my first pokeball, realizing I was about to battle with my newest partner who came straight from Galar. "Let's begin then! Come on out!"

The Pokemon popped out of the pokeball and onto the battlefield. Seeing him again made me remember what Robert's pokedex had on this Pokemon.

_"Rookidee, the Tiny Bird Pokemon. It will bravely challenge any opponent, no matter how powerful. This Pokémon benefits from every battle—even a defeat increases its strength a bit."_

Korrina sent out a Mienfoo, waiting for me to start.

"Alright then," I grinned. "Let's win this together, Rookidee! Use Peck!"

"Stop him with Fake Out!" Korrina spun around in one spot, stopping to point her finger at Rookidee. Mienfoo leaped towards Rookidee, slamming her open palms against the Flying type. Rookidee fell to the ground, but immediately got back up.

"Don't be discouraged," I shouted. "Pluck!"

Rookidee flew at Mienfoo as she fell back towards the ground, jabbing his beak into her multiple times, pulling roughly.

"Knock him back with Double Slap!" Korrina yelled as Mienfoo cried in pain. The Fighting type knocked Rookidee backwards, landing back on the ground.

"Now use Power-Up Punch!" Korrina commanded.

Mienfoo's fist glowed as she shot towards Rookidee.

"Dodge!" I shouted.

Rookidee flew up, but Mienfoo leaped upwards, slamming her fist into Rookidee's side.

"Quick!" I yelled. "Air Slash!"

Rookidee spun around, slashing his wings, the air being slashed as well. It slammed into Mienfoo, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Heal with Roost!" I commanded.

Rookidee scrunched up his body, feathers all over his body sticking up, before they all disappeared, leaving Rookidee healed.

"Swift!"

Mienfoo began shooting golden stars towards Rookidee and a couple collided before he was able to fly upwards, but the rest changed directions and smashed into him.

"Finish him with Smelling Salts!" Korrina cried.

Mienfoo leaped into the air once more, readying both palms.

"Air Slash!" I shouted.

Mienfoo deflected the attack and slammed Rookidee towards the ground. He crashed and fainted as Mienfoo landed on the ground beside him.

"Rookidee is unable to battle! Challenger Zeno, please bring out your next Pokemon!"

I returned my newest Pokemon. "Sorry Rookidee. We win some and lose some. All we need to do is understand each other more. Then we'll both become stronger."

I clipped his pokeball to my waist, then swung a different one. "Mawile!"

She appeared on the battlefield, her back jaw snapping. She looked back at me and I gave her a confident grin.

"We haven't had much time to get to know one another," I said to her. "But battling is one of the best ways to understand each other. So, let's win this, you and me."

"Maw," she said and turned towards Mienfoo, eyes sharpening and her back jaw closed tightly.

"Mienfoo," Korrina said. "Drain Punch!"

Mienfoo's right fist began glowing green and she charged forwards.

"Sucker Punch!" I shouted.

Mawile leaped over Mienfoo, swinging her back jaw against Mienfoo's back.

"Iron Defense," I said. "Take advantage of time."

"Don't give them that opportunity!" Korrina yelled. "Jump Kick!"

Mienfoo leaped and twisted midair, aiming straight for Mawile.

"Don't dodge!" I shouted, Mawile's eyes narrowing, as if she didn't know whether to trust me or not. "Wait... NOW! IRON DEFENSE!"

Just as Mienfoo was about to hit, Mawile's body hardened into steel for just a split second, causing Mienfoo to be repelled. Mawile was mostly unharmed, taking only minuscule damage, but the jarring impact dealt great damage to Mienfoo. The Fighting type was wobbly when she tried to stand, showing just how injured she was.

"Finish her with Draining Kiss," I said. Mawile's lips glowed and green energy floated from Mienfoo's body and into Mawile's, causing the Fighting type to faint and Mawile to be healed.

"Mienfoo is unable to battle!" the ref called. "Gym Leader Korrina, please send out your next Pokemon!"

"Interesting way of using Iron Defense," Korrina praised as she returned Mienfoo. "Where'd you learn that?"

I remembered watching that battle, in agony of knowing every second watching was another second Lillie was in danger. Yet, I couldn't help but take mental notes from their fight, Guzma's and Cassandra's. Guzma especially, the way he used Iron Defense to protect his Pokemon.

"Let's just say I learned it from an old rival," I answered.

"Fair enough," Korrina said, grinning. "Now show me more of what you can do! Let's go, Hawlucha! Wing Attack!"

Hawlucha landed on the battlefield and his wings glowed brightly. He charged forwards, preparing to strike.

"Knock him back with Fairy Wind!" I commanded.

Mawile swung her hand up, a pink wind slamming into Hawlucha, breaking off his attack.

"Don't let up!" Korrina encouraged. "Submission!"

Hawlucha charged forwards once more and I yelled, "Fairy Wind again!"

"Don't think that'll work again!" Korrina shouted. "Bounce!"

Hawlucha bounced high above the battlefield, avoiding the Fairy move. He tucked in his wings and dived towards Mawile.

_"No time to dodge!"_ I thought. "Iron Defense!"

"Aerial Ace!"

As Mawile's body turned to steel, Hawlucha used Aerial Ace to break off from his attack and land on Mawile's right side. I saw Mawile's eyes widen as her steel protection faded away.

"Submission!" Korrina yelled.

Hawlucha tackled Mawile and roughly slammed her into the ground, pinning her tightly, her face scrunched up in pain.

I gripped a fist. If she stayed there for a while, upped defenses or not, she was going to lose.

"Iron Head!" I shouted. "Break loose!"

Mawile's head turned to steel and she swung it upwards, slamming her own head into Hawlucha's. He stumbled backwards as Mawile leaped to her feet, her back jaw snarling fiercely.

"Play Rough!" I yelled.

Mawile was the one to tackle Hawlucha and she began beating him up with her fists and jaw as they kicked up a dust cloud, obscuring them from sight. After a second, Hawlucha was kicked out, severely weakened.

"Use Crunch to finish him!" I commanded.

"We're not finished yet!" Korrina shouted. "Brick Break!"

Hawlucha's hand glowed as he charged.

"Jump and Crunch!" I shouted, Mawile jumping at the last second, turning her body so her back jaw could crunch down on Hawlucha's head. "Now finish him!"

Once she landed, her back jaw swung back, flinging Hawlucha into the air. He fell down, fainted.

"Hawlucha is unable to battle!" the ref called. "Gym Leader Korrina, please send out your final Pokemon!"

Korrina returned him and laughed. "Geez! You're strong! I don't get too many battles that push me this far!"

She held up an Great Ball. "But, this is where your strength and spirit will really be tested."

She threw it up in the air, a Lucario being sent out in kneeling position. He stood and set his gaze on Mawile and me. He was strong. Stronger than most.

Korrina held up a gloved hand. "Now, let's see what you're really made of."

She breathed. "Lucario, go! Unlock the power within!"

She shot out her hand and pressed her other hand on the orb embedded into the glove. A bright white light shot from between her hands and connected with the mega stone on the bracelet Lucario wore on his left arm.

"Mega Evolve!" Korrina shouted, Lucario howling, the pitches and tone changing. His body was enveloped by white light and his form changed. With another howl, the light had gone. His black and red appendages attached to his head floated softly as a powerful aura flowed around him.

"Get ready, Mawile," I narrowed my eyes. "This is gonna get intense."

"You have no idea," Korrina grinned. "Lucario, Bone Rush!"

Lucario slammed his palms together, spreading them apart, creating a silver bone. Once it was a meter long, he dashed forwards, wielding the bone in one hand.

"Sucker Punch!" I shouted.

Mawile leaped at Lucario, jaw swinging.

"Aura!" Korrina shouted.

A visible wind erupted from Lucario's body, slamming into Mawile, knocking her back. Lucario took advantage of her being surprised and appeared behind her, slamming the bone into her back. She flew across the battlefield, before skidding along the ground roughly, before finally coming to a stop.

The ref didn't bother checking to see if Mawile could get back up. "Mawile is unable to battle! Challenger Zeno, please send out your final Pokemon!"

I returned Mawile. "You got us this far, Mawile. I feel like I know you better, if only just a little."

I raised Arcanine's pokeball. "Don't be disappointed. We'll win this for sure! Let's go, Arcanine!"

Arcanine howled upon entering the battle, flames licking at the corners of his mouth. He instantly set his gaze on Mega Lucario and crouched, knowing we would be going all out for this match.

"Oh," Korrina looked surprised, but excited all the same. "He looks strong. Really strong. Looks like I can't hold back."

"Good," I grinned. "'Cause we won't either! Arcanine, Extreme Speed!"

"You too Lucario!" Korrina shouted.

Both Pokemon seemed to disappear, only to reappear in the middle of the battlefield, both striking each other at the same time.

_"No," _I thought, as both Pokemon skidded back along the ground, creating small grooves in the dirt. _"Lucario's faster, but only just a little. If we can overcome that gap, I'm sure we can beat him."_

"Arcanine!" I shouted. "Flame Wheel and Agility!"

Arcanine spun into a wheel of fire, racing towards Lucario, gaining speed.

"Stop him with Force Palm!" Korrina ordered.

Lucario slammed both paws together, small sparks of electricity created, then he shot out an open palm, blasting away Arcanine's fire. The resulting blast sent Arcanine flying backwards and he rolled along the ground.

"Get up buddy!" I yelled.

Arcanine got to his feet, hurt, but still able to fight.

_"If he keeps attacking like that,"_ I clenched my teeth. _"Arcanine will go down for sure. He has the advantage. Speed and power. We just have to overcome the former."_

"Extreme Speed and Agility," I said. "Don't let him catch you!"

Arcanine began racing around the arena like a bullet, gaining more speed as he went.

"Like we practiced," Korrina said, the glint in her eye making me freeze for a moment. "Bone Rush Trap!"

Lucario began making tons of silver glowing bones, each one getting thrown into the ground, littering the battlefield with them.

"Weave around them!" I shouted.

Arcanine's speed reached its max as he dodged Bone Rush after Bone Rush. Then, Lucario was there.

"Power-Up!" Korrina yelled, thrusting her fist forwards. "PUNCH!"

Lucario slammed a glowing fist forwards, slamming it into Arcanine's face, blasting him backwards into several of the bones. Arcanine struggled to rise, breathing heavily.

_"I don't think we can beat them,"_ my mind was racing. _"How is Mega Evolution this strong!? We only beat Kamake's Mega Absol before because Mahina was created to take down Ultra Beasts."_

_"Hau was able to beat one though,"_ I remembered, thinking back to his battle against Mega Abomasnow during the Pokemon League. _"He didn't really know what he was up against at the time, yet he managed to beat a mega with a just-thought-of strategy. If he can do it, then so can we."_

"Heh," I breathed. "We're trying to catch up to Hau now then, aren't we. How things change."

I raised my head, grinning despite the situation. "If we can't win this battle here and now, we'll never be able to prove we're stronger than our rivals! Let's show them the strength of our spirit! Let's show them we're worthy to wield Mega Evolution!"

Arcanine howled, fire blasting from his body, streaming behind him.

"We'll never give up," I raised my fist. "No matter how strong our opponent is, no matter the situation. We'll always strive to win! Arcanine! Extreme Speed!"

With the sound of an explosion, Arcanine blasted himself forwards, fire and heat racing off of him. His speed was so insane, I saw sparks of electricity amongst the flames. He slammed into Lucario before he or Korrina could react, blasting him backwards.

Arcanine came to a stop, the fire and heat fading away as Lucario stood. Whatever that temporary power-up was, it might've just saved us.

"Lucario!" Korrina cried. "They showed us their spirit! Now let's show them ours! Aura!"

He howled as he launched himself forwards, a fierce wind of aura surrounding him, being wielded by his spirit alone.

"There's only one way left to win," I thought. "Arcanine, get behind him!"

Arcanine sped around Lucario in just a second, an orange glow surrounding him.

"NOW!" I roared. "REVERSAL!

Arcanine slammed his body against Lucario, knocking both of them forwards. They tumbled over each other, Arcanine getting to his feet faster and pinning Lucario.

"Aura!" Korrina yelled as I shouted, "Heat Wave!"

Opposite forces collided, resulting in an explosion, knocking Arcanine back and cracking the ground beneath Lucario. Arcanine didn't get up, but Lucario's form shimmered and he transformed back into a regular Lucario. Both had fainted.

I wiped the sweat from my brow. The heat from the battle, both figuratively and literally, had caused me to become exhausted. I let myself fall back on my butt, breathing heavily.

Korrina skated over to me, lending me a hand. Gripping it, she pulled me up.

She grinned. "Congratulations. You've proven yourself worthy."

I smiled, but felt a little unsure. "You sure? I mean, both of our Pokemon fainted."

"Perhaps," Korrina shrugged, handing me a gym badge. "But, that blazing spirit you and your Arcanine have, that surprised me. I haven't the faintest idea what it really was, but that alone proved to me you're worthy. This Rumble Badge is proof of that, as well as the Keystone grandfather will be giving to you later."

She returned her Lucario, so I returned Arcanine as well.

She turned back to me as Alex and Robert joined us. "You go rest up your Pokemon at the Pokemon Center. You three can come back tonight for the Keystone."

Korrina gave Alex an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but it would be better for our battle to be tomorrow."

Alex shook her head and smiled. "No, it's fine. A battle like that would exhaust any Pokemon."

Korrina nodded and rolled past us to the doors. "We'll be expecting you three tonight!"

I breathed out a sigh. "Man, that was exhausting. Dunno why. Feels like this battle just really wore me down."

"Well," Alex gave me a soft smile. "You'll have time to rest as well as your Pokemon before-"

Suddenly the lights shut off, plunging us into darkness, the only light coming from the doors.

"Wha-" Robert looked around. "The heck!?"

"Something's wrong," I said, feeling uneasy. "Come on, we have to hurry!"

I took off at a run, my exhaustion forgotten, as I raced for the doors.

**You know, I can't help but love these cliffhangers. I hate 'em when they happen to me, but I take a certain pleasure doing this to all of you. I hope you readers enjoyed the chapter. Managed to get past 3000 words again, it's been a while. A bit of a warning though. I might not get the next chapter out next weekend, maybe not at all during Christmas Break. Before and after Christmas I'm going to be busy helping my friends then I'll be starting a D&D campaign with them. I'll likely have time to write after Christmas, but you never know. If all goes according to plan, I do have something planned for Christmas day, but it may or may not happen. You all will just have to wait and see. Well, that's it for this chapter. Till next time. Toodles**


	28. Chapter 27: Chaotic Battles

As soon as I burst through the doors, cold air hit me. Sometime during the gym battle, the sky had been covered by dark clouds, the sea churning. Pellets of rain began hitting the stone path, picking up in intensity. The wind was picking up speed as well. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, causing me to fall to one knee. After a minute, it stopped. There were small cracks in the stone path and sirens began wailing in the distance, small people in the distance rushing up the hills.

"What are those!?" Alex half yelled, the wind muting her voice somewhat.

"Tsunami sirens," Robert pointed out towards the sea. "That earthquake was probably further off in the sea. It's bound to cause one."

His face dropped. "This is the worst place to be right now. We have to get out of here."

I was only half listening, desperately looking around. Something was still off. Something bad. Then, I saw them. Walking through the city in a single file line towards the Tower of Majesty, their dark purple robes fluttering in the wind, the symbol of Chaos glowing on their hoods.

"They're here," I whispered, then louder so Alex and Robert could hear. "The Cult of Chaos!"

They looked and both went wide-eyed.

"This isn't good," Alex gripped a pokeball tightly. "Why are they here!?"

"I don't know," I gripped a fist. "But whatever they're up to, they need to be stopped."

"But," Robert looked out at the sea. "It'll be coming soon."

"Aw dang," he pulled out his Holo Caster. "Who am I kidding? We can't leave now. But I'm sending a message to Diantha."

"Good," I went to grab Arcanine's pokeball, then realized he was way too tired from the battle. I grabbed both Riolu's and Frogadier's pokeballs. I sent them out, both surprised at the downpour. "Both of you, I need your help. The Cult of Chaos is here and we need to stop them."

They looked at the Cult, now on the stretch of beach that led to the Tower of Majesty.

"Rio."

"Frog."

I smiled. "Good. Alex, Robert, you guys ready?"

Alex brought out her Ninetales and Combee. "Yeah."

Robert held up Snorlax's pokeball. "Let's take them down."

I nodded and began running. The wind pushed back against us, but we managed to reach the Tower of Majesty before the Cult reached the island. We ran inside to see Gurkinn and Korrina inside the pedestal, stuffing papers into a metal chest.

"Korrina," I shouted, getting her attention. "We need your help out here!"

She looked at us, then roller skated out of the pedestal. "We have to preserve these documents before the wave hits!"

"We have a bigger issue right now," Robert pointed towards the Cultists, now walking up the steps. In total, I would count at least two, three dozen. With all the wind and rain, it was hard to tell.

Korrina's eyes flickered with fear. Gurkinn rushed out to see what the issue was and nearly fainted when he saw the Cultists.

"No," he whispered. "Not them."

"You know them?" I asked, keeping my eye on the cultists as they got closer.

They began to spread out, one of them stepping out from the main group and into the tower, just twenty feet from us.

"Guru," the cloaked figure lowered his hood, revealing a man just as old as Gurkinn, with short gray hair and piercing brown eyes. "It's been a while."

"Damn," Gurkinn cursed. "Why are you here Sebastian!?"

"This place is rich in history and power," the man answered in an almost monotonous voice. "We were always going to come here. But we had to wait for the signs to all connect."

Robert kept glancing nervously behind us and I knew any minute now the tsunami could strike. But so did the cultists. They had to be planning something.

"Get out of here while you still can," I warned, stepping forwards. "The champion is already on her way! You stand no chance!"

Sebastian set his gaze on me. "That is of little consequence. What we have planned is decades in the making."

As he put a hand into his robe, Lampents and Chandelures began appearing around the cultists as if from thin air. He withdrew a vial with purple liquid inside.

"Guru," he looked at Gurkinn again. "This place you have protected for so long will help give rise to Chaos. The power that resides here will be ours!"

He dropped the vial, the purple liquid fizzing on the stone, before dissolving, purple smoke lifting into the air. The ground rumbled again and strange symbols began glowing upon the ground, turning from bright green to a sickly purple.

Purple energy began forming around the base of the island and streams of it began flowing into a purple orb, held in the palm of Sebastian.

Several Chandelures floated in front of him as he looked at us. "Once we have obtained this power, you all will be wiped out by the coming wave of Chaos. Resisting is futile."

"Yeah," I stepped forwards, Frogadier and Riolu by my side. "That's never stopped us before."

Sebastian looked at me. "You may be an important part of our grand design, Hero Born of Darkness, but don't think you can't be sacrificed here. This is as perfect as a sacrificial place as can be."

I clenched a fist. "No one is going to be sacrificed today. No one! Frogadier, Water Pulse! Riolu, Force Palm!"

Frogadier fired a Water Pulse at one of the Chandelures, knocking it away, Riolu leaping at the other. Sebastian grinned as Riolu went right through the Ghost type, but I grinned right back.

"Blaze Kick!"

Riolu swung his leg, smacking it into the Purple Orb, blasting it away. It crashed into the wall 30 feet away, creating a small hole before falling onto the ground. Riolu landed on the ground and leaped back to stand by me, kicking his foot against the stone floor to get rid of the fire.

Sebastian's face grew red with rage. "How dare you! Non-believers will be sacrificed!"

All the Chandelures rose higher, flames growing brighter. Then, a blast of pink energy sent several crashing forwards. The Cultists all turned to see Diantha and Gardevoir walking up to them, soaked to the skin thanks to the raging downpour, a serious look upon her face. This time, she wasn't going to play fair. This was her being a champion.

"Gardevoir," Diantha raised her hand, the wind causing her hair to fly like crazy.

Gardevoir's eyes glowed and her body began glowing brightly, the light blasting more Chandelures plus some of the Cultists away.

"Get the orb!" Sebastian barked at several Cultists and withdrew a Dusk Ball from his cloak. He dropped it and a Gengar was released, an evil grin upon its face. "Gengar, take down that Gardevoir!"

Diantha glared at him with fierce eyes. Gardevoir's eyes reflected her trainer's as she formed a Moonblast in one hand, preparing to launch an attack on the Ghost type.

Deciding I'd let Diantha handle him, I ran towards the orb, yelling, "Quick Attack!"

Both Frogadier and Riolu rushed past me, knocking the orb to me before the Cultists and Chandelures could.

I scooped it up in my arm as Alex yelled, "Fireblast!"

The Cultists scrambled away as their Chandelures took the brunt of the attack.

"Water Pulse!" I shouted.

Frogadier leaped into the air, shooting an orb of water into one of the Chandelures, knocking it away.

The orb was still gathering energy while I held it in the crook of my arm, its purple glow growing in intensity.

"Robert!" I yelled, preparing to toss it. "Have Snorlax smash this!"

He nodded and released Snorlax. "Use Heavy Slam!"

Snorlax barreled forwards, leaping into the air. I rolled the ball instead of throwing it and Snorlax was about to crash down onto it when a Toxicroak came out of nowhere and slammed into Snorlax's side, sending him crashing along the ground.

I glanced back to see Alex engaging the Cultists in battle with their Pokemon, Frogadier being a big help.

"Riolu," I called, knowing he wasn't going to do much against Ghost types. "Let's go!"

He nodded and ran up to my side, fists clenched. The Toxicroak straightened and picked up the orb, its eyes now on us. It threw the orb away, where some Cultists picked it up, before crouching, pointing its knuckle claws at us. Then he was picked up behind by a Machoke and squeezed tightly. Toxicroak croaked and tried to get out of the other Fighting type's grip, but to no avail. Then the Machoke jumped and body slammed Toxicroak against the stone ground.

"Good work Machoke," Korrina praised, rolling around to stand near me. "Thought I would stop standing around and give you a hand."

"Much appreciated," I said as Toxicroak lashed out, Machoke leaping backwards to avoid the attack. "Together?"

"Yes," Korrina nodded. "Keep him distracted for a second, K?"

I nodded. "Riolu, Bullet Punch!"

Before Toxicroak could react Riolu launched himself forwards, landing a series of punches before jumping backwards. Toxicroak swelled his sac before spitting out a gunk of poison.

"Dodge!" I shouted and Riolu managed to evade in time.

Toxicroak's claws glowed with a poisonous hue and he leaped towards Riolu.

"Too late!" Korrina cried. "Dynamic Punch!"

Machoke, who had been biding his time while charging up his fist, was now beside Toxicroak and landed a solid punch into his side, causing him to crash against the pedestal. At the same time, Gengar was finally put to a stop as he collapsed next to Sebastian.

Despite loseing, Sebastian grinned. "It seems you're out of time. We win."

He was handed the orb and I didn't realize why he was so confident, that is, until I looked outside and saw the water retreating from the shore.

"Diantha!" I yelled. "The Tsunami!"

Diantha looked conflicted, but I shouted, "We got this! Don't worry!"

Diantha looked at me and nodded, before having Gardevoir teleport both of them away.

"Thank you Hero Born of Darkness," he turned to smile at me. "But, you can't beat me."

He tossed out another Dusk Ball and released a Dusknoir. "We will be leaving now."

"Flamethrower!" Alex yelled, running over with Ninetales and Frogadier, but a dozen Chandelures blocked her path.

Similarly, Robert was blocked off with Gurkinn and Korrina. The only ones able to stop Sebastian, was me and Riolu.

"It's just you and me, Riolu," I said. "We can fall back if we need to. Don't push yourself."

Riolu snorted and stepped forwards, Dusknoir looming over him, yet he was undaunted.

"Heh," I smiled. "I thought you would want to fight still. But, you're not alone."

I glanced back at my friends, battling the Chandelures, knowing they would help me soon. "You're not alone in this, not for long. We all got your back. So don't be afraid to retreat if necessary."

Riolu glanced back at me and flashed a grin. "Riol."

Sebastian chuckled. "Done yet? Dusknoir, Shadow Punch!"

A swirl of shadows formed around Dusknoir's right fist as he prepared to charge.

"Riolu!" I shouted. "Don't lose concentration! Blaze Kick!"

Riolu stepped his right foot back, a flame sparking, igniting a blaze. He charged forwards and leaped into the air, smashing his foot against Dusknoir's fist, the two's power keeping them in place.

"Riolu!" I yelled.

"Destroy him!" Sebastian bellowed.

Dusknoir's other fist came bearing down on Riolu, smashing him into the ground, creating a crater. My eyes widened as Dusknoir lifted his fist, leaving Riolu on the ground, severely injured.

"Kill him," Sebastian spoke with a calm voice. "Show the Hero why we mustn't be messed with."

"NO!" I screamed, rushing forwards. "Not again! Not again!"

Images of Charizard and Mira flashed through my mind.

"Not again. Not again! NOT AGAIN!"

"RIOLU!" I screamed.

As Dusknoir was about to punch again, I threw myself in the crossfire, determined not to let another friend die. I heard Alex and Robert scream my name and even Sebastian's eyes widened.

Time seemed to slow and in what was my last moments, a defiant thought crossed my mind. If I died like this, I couldn't be used as a sacrifice. Then, Riolu was there.

He drew back his fist and smashed it against Dusknoir's, the shock wave knocking me backwards. I lifted myself up to see Dusknoir getting knocked back a few feet, Riolu landing on the ground, glowing. He grew taller and two new black appendages grew from the back of his head, joining the other two already there.

"Crush him!" Sebastian cried and Dusknoir's fist exploded into sparks of electricity, bearing down upon the Fighting type.

The glow disappeared as the newly evolved Lucario leaped forwards, a glowing bone appearing in his right paw. He swung, breaking off Dusknoir's attack before using his momentum to leap over the Ghost type.

Lucario landed on the ground, a sharp aura surrounding him. He glanced back at me and gave a thumbs up. I grinned and got to my feet.

"Lucario," I said, noticing the Chandelures who had been attacking my friends retreating. "We'll celebrate your evolution later. For now, let's finish this."

Lucario growled in agreement, pulling back his right fist as he crouched low.

"Ninetales," Alex came up next to me. "Help Lucario."

"No," Gurkinn said, stopping Alex and Ninetales. "Let them fight."

"But-" Alex looked conflicted, but I gripped her hand.

She looked at me and I smiled. "It's alright. We got this."

Sebastian looked bored as he held up the orb, which had finished gathering energy. Actually, the glowing symbols in the tower had faded away as well. Hopefully Diantha's Gardevoir had dealt with the tsunami above.

"We have more than enough power now," Sebastian said with cold eyes. "So, using a little to break your spirits won't hurt. _Az Grothar Nith_!"

Several purple streams of energy lashed out from the orb and wrapped themselves around Dusknoir. The Ghost type seemed to scream horribly, before rising up, getting bigger. The mouth on its belly was now wide open, a dark swirl of nothingness within, the two yellow eyes now a dark purple. Its cyclops eye glowed a dark crimson, the six plates forming an upturned collar around its head having grown, almost encasing its head. The yellow disk atop its head floated up, surrounded by ghostly energy, as it was revealed to be a long nail.

The Ghost type loomed over Lucario, four times bigger than before. Lucario grimaced, but didn't retreat.

"Zeno," Alex looked unsure, gazing fearfully at the Dusknoir.

I felt Gurkinn press something into my hand and I looked at him. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "You proved yourself. Now do so again."

I nodded and turned back to Lucario. "Alright Lucario! Bone Rush!"

He howled as he formed two bones and leaped at the Dusknoir, throwing both. They exploded against the Ghost type and seemed to have no effect as Lucario formed two more and smashed them against its collar. Again, no effect. Dusknoir's cyclops eye glowed and a ghostly aura blasted Lucario away against a wall.

I rushed over to him as Alex and Robert's Pokemon engaged in battle.

"Lucario," I said, getting to my knees, helping him up. "You okay?"

He grinned, but then winced and he held his side.

"You've done good," I praised. "I know you won't be able to rest easy until you've finished this battle yourself though, huh?"

He growled in agreement and stood.

"Good," I rose as well, handing him something. "Then let's go to even greater heights, together."

Lucario looked at the orb and his eyes seemed to glow for a second. Then he set it on his left arm and it latched itself around it. I clicked the ring into place on my left wrist, holding it up, the feeling of it reminding me of my Z-ring. "Lucario, we haven't known each other for a whole long while, yet we completely trust one another. Let's show the Cult of Chaos that unshakable bond we share."

I pressed two fingers against the Keystone, ribbons of blue and white connecting me and Lucario through his Mega Stone.

"Let our trust never wane," I said, feeling our connection deepen. "And let our fighting spirit overcome any obstacle! Let's show them our strength!"

I held up my wrist high. "Lucario, Mega Evolve!"

The light exploded around Lucario, his aura larger than before as his appendages swirled around him. His eyes sharpened and focused in on Dusknoir, a deep and almost twisted howl coming from his throat. He blasted forwards, smashing his fist against Dusknoir's, blocking an attack that had been heading for Ninetales. A shock wave rippled through the air upon impact, knocking Dusknoir back a little. Lucario landed ten feet back, his appendages floating upwards as his aura grew. His eyes looked small and his breathing seemed erratic.

"Oh no," Korrina said as I ran up.

"What?" I asked, worried, and rightly so.

"Your Lucario," she said. "Having Mega Evolved, his aura is growing like crazy. The only thing he can register right now is that he has an opponent to beat and nothing more. He won't hear any of your commands. The same thing happened with my Lucario when we first were able to Mega Evolve."

Lucario howled again and launched himself at the Ghost type, fists turned to steel and glowing like a star. He smashed them against Dusknoir, causing it to cry out in pain. It floated away and the giant nail rose above its head, forming several copies of itself, all pointed at Lucario. The Aura Pokemon growled in defiance and rushed forwards, a long glowing bone forming in his right paw. The nails shot towards Lucario at high speeds, but the Fighting type knocked one away with the bone and leaped atop another, his own speed increasing. He ran along the nail and jumped, knocking another away. The one he had jumped on swerved midair and shot towards him again, one in front as well. Lucario howled and a burst of aura from his body knocked both away.

Dusknoir drew back two mammoth fists, one crackling with electricity while the other was blazing with fire. He drew back the electric fist first and punched it outwards, slamming it into Lucario before he could dodge. The Fighting and Steel type flew backwards and landed on his feet, rocketing forwards using Extreme Speed. He leaped again, Dusknoir preparing to smash him with Fire Punch this time. However, Lucario slammed his hand spikes together, a horrific metal sound echoeing across the tower, worse than nails on a chalkboard. I pressed my hands to my ears tightly as my friends did the same. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sebastian and the Cultists trying to escape while the two battled.

"No," I clenched my teeth, trying to walk, but the ringing in my ears was causing me to be off balance.

Lucario's eyes reflected madness as he slammed his steel fists into Dusknoir's face repeatedly, using his aura as a power booster. The Ghost type managed to grasp Lucario in one hand and smash him into the ground, applying a ghostly pressure atop him, cracking the surrounding stone.

I could feel my connection to Lucario waver. I fell to my knees to try to stop the dizziness and reached within myself, grasping onto that bond we shared through Mega Evolution.

"C'mon," I urged. "Don't let him break you! Our friendship is stronger than his strength!"

A blast of aura knocked Dusknoir's fist away and Lucario leaped up, landing on the Ghost type's fist. He jumped again, pulling his right fist back, a metal sheen covering it once more. In that moment before he struck, I felt our bond solidify as he came back to his senses.

"METEOR MASH!" I shouted, and Lucario slammed his fist into Dusknoir's head, bringing the huge Ghost type down. It collapsed and returned to normal as the purple energy disappeared beneath the ground.

Lucario landed back on the ground and collapsed onto one knee, his mega form disappearing. I ran over to him and caught him before he fell forwards.

"Amazing," I said, smiling. "You did amazing."

Lucario grinned and closed his eyes, exhausted from the battles. I returned him to his pokeball and stood. I turned towards the entrance to the tower to see the Cultists were gone.

Frogadier leaped to me and I rubbed his head. "You did a good job, Frogadier. It seems the battle is over now."

Diantha and Gardevoir teleported back to the ground as the sun broke through the clouds, the torrent of rain decreasing.

"They've gone then?" She asked, drenched and looking absolutely exhausted.

"Sorry," I gripped a fist, looking down at the cracked stone floor. "I said we had this, but-"

"It's alright," Diantha said and I looked back up. "From what I can see, you just went through an intense battle and won. That alone is victory enough."

"They still got away," Alex's voice spoke with bitterness, reflecting how I felt. "With that orb thing too, whatever it was."

Robert turned to Gurkinn. "You knew that guy, the Cultist, didn't you?"

Gurkinn looked uneasy, then sighed. "I thought I did. We were old friends, both looking deep into Kalos' myths and legends. I ended up focusing on Mega Evolution while Sebastian, well, focused more on the darkness within Kalos. The 'Chaos' he called it. One day he ended up vanishing and the last I heard of him was that he joined a cult or something."

Gurkinn shuddered. "He looked into some dark things, things that should not have been brought into the light of day. This 'Chaos' he worships, I don't know much, but what I do know is that is a twisted creature from Kalos myth. The bane of Kalos itself, one that would usher in an era of Chaos to the world."

Diantha scowled. "Gardevoir and I will take our leave now. I'm assuming he no longer needs to come back here now, so we need to be looking for him."

She looked at my friends and I. "You three. Let me pursue the Cult for now. Focus on Team Flare. You said they were planning something with the Power Plant? That's your next destination. Stop whatever they're planning."

She turned around and Gardevoir and her teleported away.

"What are you going to do?" Alex asked me, grasping my hand, concern in her eyes.

I sighed. "I can let Diantha handle the Cult for now. We were barely able to, so I guess it should be the Champion's job. Plus, she's right that we should focus on Team Flare. Who knows what they're planning on top of everything else going on. And we shouldn't forget about Eve and Team Radiance either."

Alex nodded and squeezed my hand. "Then we'll do that."

She stepped away and looked at Korrina. "How soon can we have that Gym Battle. We need to hurry out of here as soon as we can."

Korrina looked around the area, the inside of the temple almost completely trashed. "Tonight. For now, I'm going to do some cleaning, make sure nothing breaks any further."

"We can help," Robert offered. "And our Pokemon."

I nodded. "It's the least we can do. We did cause some of this destruction."

"It's fine," Gurkinn waved his hand. "The help would be appreciated, but no need to be sorry. Something like this was bound to happen. I should've stopped Sebastian before he went too far down that dark path."

His face then grew solemn as he lowered his arm. "I just remembered."

He hurried to the pedestal and nearly ripped the door off its hinges as he ran inside. Sharing a look with my friends and Korrina, we hurried inside. Gurkinn was shuffling through a pile of papers, most of them falling around his feet. He stopped and held one, hands shaking.

"This," he turned slowly, holding it out. "I remember when Sebastian had gone into a cave alone and came back out, muttering nonsense. As soon as he was in reach of paper,he drew this. That was what began his dark obsessions."

I grabbed the paper and spread it out with both hands so Alex, Robert, and Korrina could see. Drawn in dark, shaded ink, was a misshapen beast, body curved into a Z-like shape with long arms and sharp claws. As I stared at it, I felt my stomach drop as my head began pounding. In an almost dream-like state, the picture came alive, sharp eyes glowing yellow and its body pulsing with purple, it's claws dripping poison.

_"You cannot stop me, Hero Born of Darkness. I will rise and Chaos will sweep across Kalos and the world. All will be mine."_

**Okay, so, this is definitely one of the longest chapters I wrote without trying to get it to go over 4000 words. I'm taking this as a good sign that my word count is going back up once more. In all, a lot of this felt chaotic, to me at least, which goes with the theme of the Cult of Chaos. I hope you readers enjoyed this extra long chapter. So, no more new chapters for this until after Christmas probably. Maybe a chapter will get released on Christmas? I don't know. I already have something else planned. And I will do it. I'm committed. So, until Christmas y'all. Toodles**


	29. Chapter 28: MurderOnTheCoumarineExpress

"What an enjoyable battle," Alex grinned, holding out her Mega Ring so it would catch the sunlight. "Even Combee and Flabebe evolved! I wonder who I could mega evolve..."

"Absol," Robert pointed out. "That is, if she decides to get along with you. She still doesn't seem that keen."

"Oh, yeah," Alex looked at Absol's pokeball, then let the Dark type out. "Alright girl, let's walk together. Deepen our friendship."

Absol huffed and began walking further ahead, causing Alex to groan.

I stopped, looking back at Shalour City. We were heading towards Route 12 now, a new day awaiting us. The only damage brought upon by the Cult of Chaos was done to the Tower of Mastery. Thanks to Diantha, the tsunami was stopped before it hit shore. Eyewitness accounts said she and her Gardevoir stood atop the tower, mega evolving her Gardevoir who then used her psychic powers to stop the wall of water.

Strangely, no one mentioned anything about the Cult, but that might be for the better. As far as we knew, Diantha hasn't brought them to the public eye yet, but she definitely wasn't just sitting around. Not after what happened here.

"C'mon Zeno," Robert called back to me. "Alex and Absol have gone ahead. That Dark type's being a pain and running ahead!"

"Heh," I focused my attention away from Shalour. "Yeah, I'm coming."

I hurried to catch up and saw Alex shouting at Absol, who was now laying down, refusing to get up from the shade of a tree.

"Ugh," I heard Alex groan. "How are we supposed to bond if you don't want to even try?"

Absol yawned and stared at the flowing river close by that fed into the ocean.

Robert decided that the best course of action was to sit on the opposite side of the tree. "How are we going to cross?"

"I dunno," I stared at the river, not shallow enough for us to cross on foot.

Alex gave up on trying to get Absol up and sat down next to her, stroking the Dark type's white fur. Absol closed her eyes, seeming to enjoy the feeling.

"I got it!" Robert announced after a few minutes, startling both Alex and Absol, the latter growling at Robert.

He stood and held up a pokeball. "I know how we're going to get across!"

"How?" Alex asked, brushing off her shorts.

He grinned. "Just watch."

He clicked his pokeball, aiming at the river. The water bubbled and his Snorlax bobbed to the surface, floating with his belly up. Robert hauled himself onto his Pokemon's large belly and waved us over.

"C'mon," he said. "There's plenty of room up here."

"The heck?" Alex looked like the world had turned upside down. "We're going to surf... on a Snorlax!?"

"Hah," I joined Robert, accepting his hand to pull me up. "Feels like Kanto now."

"This is so weird," Alex said once she and Absol were aboard.

"Yo, Snorlax," Robert tapped the Pokemon's head. "Do a backstroke. Nice and gentle does it."

Snorlax yawned and began moving his large arms lazily, moving us closer to the other side of the river. Once we were a foot away, we all leaped off. Robert was the last and once he was on solid footing, he returned Snorlax.

"Thanks man," Robert tapped the pokeball affectionately. "I knew that would work."

"My life is a lie," Alex sighed. "Let's just go."

...

After a while, when the sun had passed the middle of the sky, we had reached a port town. Many boats of various sizes were docked at several piers, sailors either working on them or carrying crates. On a pier where there were no boats were several fishermen, lines tossed in the water, metal buckets at each of their sides. People lounged on the beach while others were walking on the sidewalks, some having ice cream.

"This feels nice," I commented, watching the Wingulls fly in from the ocean as a cool breeze filtered by.

"Coumarine City," Robert said. "The Port side that is. The main city is only accessible by train."

"Where's the gym located?" Alex asked.

"The main city," Robert answered.

"Let's get going then," I said. "The sooner we can get the gym over with the sooner we can get to the Power Plant. It is right after Coumarine City, right?"

"That's right," Robert said, folding his map up.

"The station is over there," Alex pointed down a street. "Wanna race, Absol?"

Absol growled slightly, looked uninterested, then shot forwards.

"No fair!" Alex shouted, but smiled as she ran after her Pokemon.

"They're getting along better now," I remarked.

"Sure are," Robert agreed. "You know, I should be catching more Pokemon. Getting data down from seeing them is good and all, but Professor Juniper might want some actual Kalos Pokemon."

"Hey," I said. "Why exactly aren't you doing the League? Wouldn't battling be valuable data?"

He shrugged. "I don't know really. I loved Alola and it's Island Trials, and I was eager to do actual gym battles, but I guess I just grew out of it. It just didn't appeal to me anymore, y'know?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I get you. You trying to become a Professor? Is that why you became Professor Juniper's assistant?"

"I don't know actually," Robert said, giving a small smile. "I've been trying different things over the past six months and I'm still unsure of what I really want to do. Maybe it is to become a Pokemon Professor, I don't really know yet."

I clasped his shoulder as we neared the station, where Alex and Absol were waiting. "Well, I'm rooting for you. Whatever awaits you in your future, I would love to be there to see it."

"Thanks," Robert grinned. "But, aren't you going to settle down with Jesse, James, and Meowth after the Kalos League is over?"

Alex looked curious as well, so I answered, "It may sound like I'm copying you, but I don't know either."

I unclipped Frogadier's pokeball and looked at it. "I started this journey for him. I may have other reasons for being here now, but he is still the main reason. When he's... gone, I don't know what I'll do."

I looked up at the both of them. "Though, so far, despite everything we have to deal with, this journeying with you both and our Pokemon has been fun. It reminds me so much of our time in Alola. After I beat the Kalos league, continuing journeying with you two is an option I'm considering."

"Really?" Alex looked surprised, but a big smile spread across her face. "Well, we gotta make this one heck of a run through Kalos then if we want to keep you then."

Robert laughed. "True that, but you may have to count me out."

"Why?" Alex and I both asked.

"I've said it before," he said. "I don't know what I want to do. I will return to Unova to bring all my data to Professor Juniper, but after that I have no idea what I might be doing or thinking of doing."

"Then," Alex grinned confidently. "We'll just have to go to Unova with you. See what that region has to offer."

"Maybe," Robert said. "Hey, let's see when the train leaves."

We located a schedule for train departure times and found that one would be leaving in just twenty minutes.

"It's the soonest one," Alex rubbed her chin. "It'll also take longer than others since we'll be going the scenic route."

"What about the next soonest time?" I asked, studying the time board for myself.

Alex shook her head. "By then we'll likely be at the main city."

"Fine," I sighed. "The wait on the train is going to kill me."

I looked at Robert. "Do you have Clemont's number on there."

"Yeah," Robert said, pulling out his Holo Caster. "You want me to ask where he and the others are currently?"

I nodded. "Tell them that we'll be looking for them at the Power Plant. If something goes down before we get there, I'll feel better knowing Ash will handle it. At least until we can arrive."

"If not," Alex shrugged. "Ash and the others will get all the glory."

"I wouldn't mind that actually," Robert began typing furiously. "The less we have to deal with the better."

"Agreed," I scanned the area for the ticket booth. "Let's get our tickets before the train leaves without us shall we?"

...

Once the train got going, I let Frogadier out, who gazed at the ocean outside the window. Alex, who sat across from me, was playing with Floette, who floated around Alex's head playfully. Robert had joined in with Frogadier, except that he was looking for sea Pokemon.

I, too awake to even try to rest, glanced around our car. There were four other people in here with us, two of which sat only a few seats away. The guy looked to be in his twenties with his hair and clothes looking like they were straight out of an 80's rock band. His hair was long and big, white and black with spikes, a ponytail going behind him and his bangs going to his right. The girl, I assumed was his younger sister who looked 15ish, with a short pink dress with a black leather jacket over it. Her black bangs were cut on her left side and grew longer on her right, like her brother's. Both wore chokers and a Pikachu-like Pokemon sat in the girl's lap, eating from a packet of nuts.

The other two in the cabin consisted of an old man who appeared to be sleeping in the far corner, his cane resting on his lap, his head bald. Curled up on the seat next to him was a blue skinny framed Pokemon that I had never seen before.

The last person was a guy in his twenties with short black hair, wearing typical tourist clothes, who was staring right at me. He looked away, propping his elbow on the table to hide his face with his hand. I narrowed my eyes. He reeked of suspicion, but of what I did not know. In the mere second I could see his face, I thought I detected a hint of fear. I decided that if I ignored him, we wouldn't have to meet.

Not long later, I was lost in thought, staring at the window, when a bloodcurdling scream pierced through the train. I jerked back as Frogadier jumped awake from where he lay next to me. We all turned as the guy that had been watching me earlier opened the door that led to another car, then he stumbled backwards, falling on his butt.

"Body," I heard him say, then louder. "He's dead!"

I shot to my feet as the brother and sister near us turned around in their seats to look. From where I was, I stared over the guy and into the little hallway between cars. In that space, next to an open door which I assumed was the bathroom, was a man wearing a business suit. A briefcase lay next to him, sitting in a pool of blood.

"So much for a peaceful train ride," I heard Robert mutter as I got closer to the body. The man who had fallen on his butt was looked in shock as I passed, but I figured he would be fine. On the other side of the hallway, in the other car was a woman, being held by a man, probably her husband, as she stared, frightened at the dead man. She was the one who screamed then.

I knelt close to the dead body, recognizing him to be freshly dead. Having seen, no, killed a lot of people myself, I knew when a dead body was fresh. I didn't see a stab wound on his front, so I assumed the wound was on his back somewhere.

"That doesn't look good," Alex said from behind me.

I nodded. "It doesn't."

I looked up at the man holding his wife. "Do you know this man?"

He was middle-aged and was probably unaccustomed to being ordered by a teenager, but nonetheless said, "No, but he was in our car. I didn't even realize he had left to the bathroom."

"Did you see anyone else enter or leave the bathroom?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No."

"Dang," I stood, rubbing the back of my head. "Ask everyone else in your car. Make sure no one leaves. Don't let anyone in from other cars either."

He looked like he might argue, but nodded, helping his wife into a seat. I turned to face everyone in my car, all staring at me, except for the guy I was suspicious of earlier.

"Alright," I said. "This isn't a good situation. Someone's been murdered and the murderer could've been anyone."

"This is when you really need the police," the guy with the weird white and black hair groaned.

"Oho," the old man walked forwards, cane atop his shoulder. "I can help with that."

He grabbed at his skin and tore it away, revealing a dashing man beneath, wearing a brown trench coat. With dark brown hair and brown eyes, he adopted a grim smile.

"It is I," he announced, the Pokemon that had been sleeping next to him now standing at his side, one hand on his hip. "Looker of the International Police, with Inteleon as my trusty partner. Do not worry, this case will be solved quickly and no one else will come in harm's way."

**I could've made this longer, I know, but I'm saving that for Part 2 of this. Dunno when I'll get that up, but here's to hoping it's soon. I hope you all are enjoying the story so far and aren't bored. I do try and keep you guys on your toes. That's it for now. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Toodles**


	30. Chapter 29: MurderOnTheCoumarineExpress

Looker came back from the other car, tapping his pen against his notepad as he carefully stepped around the body.

"That about covers what they know," he said, then looked up at everyone in our car. "Now, onto you six."

He sat down in the seat opposite of the brother and sister. "Tell me who you two are."

The guy with the strange hair leaned forward from where he had been resting his head and focused on the International Policeman, his eyes only three quarters open and looked really tired. "I dunno why you're here investigating us, but my name's Piers and this here be my little sis Marnie. We're here visiting from the Galar region. I'm also the gym leader of Spikemuth."

"Can I see your passports please?" Looker asked and Piers and Marnie both nodded.

Marnie's Pokemon scrambled onto the table when she began ruffling through her pink backpack. Piers got his passport first and handed it to Looker, who immediately began looking it over. After a minute, he nodded and took Marnie's, then gave the passports back after another minute.

"You two look good," Looker nodded. "Did you two have any relations with that man over there?"

They both shook their heads.

"Never seen him before in me life," Piers said. "Tragic though."

Looker nodded, jotting something down in his notebook. "Alright, did either of you happen to leave your seat to go use the bathroom?"

Marnie cracked a small smile and Piers gave a light chuckle.

"What?" Looker looked confused.

"Sorry," Piers said, smiling. "It's just in Galar, bathrooms are used for bathing only. I think you would mean the loo."

"Ah, yes," Looker rubbed his head. "Sure. Did either of you use the loo?"

Piers and Marnie looked at each other before shaking their heads no.

"Alright then," Looker got up. "That will be it for now."

Piers began talking with his sister as Looker sat down in the seat opposite of us three.

He smiled. "It's been a while, Zeno, Alex, Robert."

"Likewise," I nodded. "But, what exactly are you doing here?"

His expression didn't give anything away. "A mission. I'm not allowed to speak about it. However, this murder has nothing to do with it, maybe. There's always that possibility."

He leaned forwards on his propped-up hands. "Before we get to questioning, I need to talk with you, Zeno. Alone."

I looked at my friends, who looked slightly worried, but I smiled and nodded at Looker. "Sure."

He got up first and I followed him. We went to the back of the car and through the door into a small room. Unlike the hallway at the opposite end of the car connecting cars, this was the very back of the train.

"I was Nanu's informant," Looker said once the door had closed. "I was the one who was investigating Team Rocket and gave information to Nanu."

I leaned against the wall, staying silent for the time being.

Looker continued. "Before you got to Alola, or maybe it was right when you were on your way, I had Nanu come back to Kanto to help me on a case. I was trying to track down Team Rocket after the whole Radio Tower incident."

"We managed to get surveillance of you and that girl," he went on. "I sent further information to Nanu later when he returned to Alola, which led him straight to you."

He held up a hand. "Don't worry. Nanu told me later he believed you to be worthy of a second chance."

"After he arrested me," I said, smiling a little. "But yeah, I'm thankful for what he did."

Looker nodded. "You should be. I know what happened to Alola and his fate. But that's not why I'm here. I'm not even here to arrest you. What I need is information on that girl you were with."

He took out a photo of a blurry image, with a younger me and Willow cuddled together on the couch back in that abandoned log cabin.

With shaky hands, I grasped it. "I... I thought I had lost all the pictures of her. Giovanni made sure of that. This was the picture we retook because the camera wasn't set up right. I thought I threw this away."

"Why write your names down then?" Looker asked.

I shook my head. "I didn't. I know I threw it away."

I traced the curvy letters. "This is... _was_ Willow's handwriting. She must've kept it."

"Was she connected to Team Rocket as well?" Looker crossed his arms.

I tucked the photo away into my pocket. "No. She knew about me of course, so in a way she was connected, but she was never part of them. It was only me."

Looker nodded. "Thank you, Zeno. That should be enough for me to close that case. But I'm still on the hunt for Team Rocket. You wouldn't happen to know where they are currently, would you?"

"A forested area in Kanto," I responded. "That's all I can really say. Any more and Giovanni will know someone talked. Most likely me."

I met Looker's eyes. "The less I can have his attention on me, the safer my friends are. I already had to deal with that once back in Alola. Never again."

He nodded. "I understand, more than you know."

He nodded at the door. "Alright, I don't feel it particularly necessary to ask you three questions, but I should anyway."

I nodded, heading out first, taking the seat next to Alex, who raised a questioning eyebrow. I mouthed her "later" and turned to face Looker as he sat down.

"Alright then," Looker took out his notebook. "Let's get started. Did any of you three leave to use the bathroom?"

We shook our heads and Looker nodded. "What about the others in here? Did you see any of them leave or act suspiciously?"

I shook my head. "I was spacing out, so no."

"I was looking out the window," Robert put in. "I have some great notes on the Water and Grass type Pokemon we passed by."

"I was sitting where you were sitting," Alex said. "Playing with Floette, so I wasn't facing anyone and I never bothered to turn around in my seat."

Looker nodded and jotted some things down. "I take it none of you knew the man prior to this incident?"

We shook our heads again.

Looker sighed. "Not a whole lot to go off of here. Anything of note to add?"

Alex and Robert shook their heads, but I hesitated.

Looked leaned forwards. "Go on."

I nodded. "Yeah, okay. That guy over there, closest to the bathroom. I only noticed him during the first few minutes when we left the station, then didn't pay any mind to him again. But, I felt like he was staring at me. Suspiciously. I also got some weird vibes off of him."

Looker nodded and wrote something down. "Thank you. It may just be a feeling, but it could mean something. Thanks, you three."

Looker got up and went over to the guy I had singled out, who still looked shocked from seeing the dead body. Narrowing my eyes, I wondered if he could be just faking, or if he was truly innocent. Something about him just didn't sit right with me.

Looker talked to him for a couple minutes before standing up and heading toward's the hallway. There, he stopped, and pronounced loudly for passengers in both cars to hear, "From my deductions, I have concluded that no one here in these two cars approximately thirty minutes ago murdered this man! Further investigation will be made when we arrive at the train station in Coumarine!"

"Really?" Robert asked as Looker sat across from us once more, his Inteleon leaning against his chair. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Looker folded his hands together, his eyes going to his corners in the direction of the other car. "I am sure that no one in these two cars _at that time , _or specifically that car,murdered that man."

"What?" Alex and Robert both looked confused.

Looker smiled. "It's simple really. So simple I could laugh."

He looked at me. "You get it don't you?"

I nodded as my two friends looked at me. "Thirty minutes ago, the people in these two cars didn't murder that man."

I looked at Looker directly. "There's someone else here now, isn't there?"

Looker nodded. "In the other car I would presume."

"But how," Alex asked. "I thought they weren't going to let anyone into that car?"

"Not," Looker held up a finger. "Unless they were thoroughly deceived into believing that they were already there."

He continued. "There's a man in the back, with an Alakazam. No one seemed to pay him much attention, and when asked, they all claimed to have seen him sitting there this whole time."

"Wouldn't he try to mess with your mind as well then," Robert asked.

"How many people are in that car?" I asked.

"Bingo," Looker nodded. "Ten, not including that man or the Pokemon."

"So," Robert rubbed his chin. "He doesn't want to risk trying to tamper with anyone else because he still needs to keep control of all their minds."

"Exactly," I said. "But, now the question is, where did he come from?"

"He would have had to kill that man in the bathroom," Looker said. "But somehow make it over to his seat in the back of the car without anyone noticing. Basically, it's nearly impossible that it was him."

"That's what he wants us to think," Alex said. "But, how did he do it then?"

"He didn't," Robert leaned forwards, a surprised look on his face. "Alakazam did it for him."

"That's where this thought process would lead us to believe," Looker's face grew serious. "I would bet my job on that. Alakazams are good at teleporting, so him doing it is the only way all this could have happened."

"But wait," I asked. "You said that he wasn't here thirty minutes ago. How does any of that make sense now. He could've just been here from the start."

Looker smiled. "Sorry about that. I had to lead you guys down the wrong trail before we could get here."

"Why?" Robert asked, confused.

Looker's eyes shifted to the other car again without turning his head. "Tell me, did any of you notice the Inteleon that was here at the beginning of this conversation?"

My eyes looked to where I remember Inteleon being, leaning against Looker's seat, only to see he was no longer there. "He isn't your Inteleon."

"Oh, I have an Inteleon," Looker smiled. "But he isn't where you can see him. I would assume that Inteleon was sent over here as a spy to make sure I didn't have a clue to who really killed that man. That's why I led you all down the wrong idea until he was gone. I only said what I did to both cars so he would lose suspicion."

"So where's your Inteleon then?" Robert asked.

Looker's eyes drifted to the side, to an overhead compartment as the train began slowing down. "Don't worry, there will be plenty of International Police agents at the station waiting for this train. This ends once we get off the train."

When the train came to a stop within the station, the doors opened and Looker's IP buddies came aboard. There were six of them, the one in the lead wearing a black tie and suit over a white button-up shirt. One hand was holding her badge and the other resting on top of her gun while her Mismagius floated above her long purple hair.

"Detective Looker," she said, seeing him. "Where's our killer?"

"NOW INTELEON!" Looker shouted, rising from his seat.

Inteleon became visible as he lunged over the body, landing with his right pointer finger extended. A thin bolt of water blasted from the tip of his finger and struck the Alakazam who had almost managed to teleport away, slamming him against the wall behind him.

We all got up and rushed into the other car, Looker and his team ahead of us. Everyone in the car was shaking their heads, as if awaking from a dream. The man Alakazam was with blinked and rubbed his head.

_"So he _was _under Alakazam's influence,"_ I thought.

The purple-haired woman tossed a cube at Alakazam's feet and an electric cage captured the Psychic type. Alakazam's eyes glowed, but the cage only sparked. It glared at all of us, its eyes resting on me the longest.

"Good work Inteleon," Looker rubbed his Pokemon's head, who only nodded while holding his hand up in a gun position.

"So this Pokemon killed that man?" the woman looked back the body in the hallway. "Why?"

"That I do not know," Looker knelt and stared into Alakazam's eyes. "But we can try to find out. We'll need to take him back to headquarters.

"Agreed," the woman nodded, then turned to two of the IP with her. "Take care of the body. This is under our jurisdiction now, but we will work with the police."

She turned to the other two. "Help everyone off this train if they need it."

Her men nodded and got to work. Suddenly, I heard a voice.

_"So, you are Zeno."_

I turned to look at the cage, where Alakazam's eyes were glowing.

_"We have heard much about you from the All-Powerful One. She wishes for you to stay alive, to be the sacrifice. But, we will not let you. We will be the ones to kill you. You will come after me, and when you do, our leader will be waiting. He has been waiting for some time now to have his revenge."_

I was too surprised to react when Alakazam threw himself into the back of the electric cage, his entire body being zapped by electricity. His body began being burned, constantly warping and liquidizing into a purple goop. He shoved his now misshapen burned body through the last of electricity and shot a glop of poison at the side of the train wall. It burned through it and the blob flew out of the window and disappeared from sight as it fell onto the tracks.

"Wha-!" Looker rushed to the hole, careful not to touch the corrosion.

"Anabel to all units," the woman spoke into her walkie-talkie. "Killer has ran onto the tracks! Find it!"

She rushed off and Looker was about to join her before I spoke up.

"You won't find it," I said.

"Why not?" Looker asked, eyeing me.

"Because," I looked back at the hole, a sinking feeling in my stomach. "Dittos can expertly disguise themselves. If it doesn't want to be found, it probably won't."

"I still have to try," Looker said, Inteleon waiting for him by the train doors. "Before I go though, that man you asked me to speak to, he'll be waiting outside the station for you. He wants to speak to you."

"Me?" I asked, but Looker had rushed off with his Inteleon.

"You'll need to fill us in," Robert said, looking at the hole. "'Cause I am so confused right now."

"From Konikoni?" Alex said, unsure. "That Ditto that got trapped to your face?"

"I think so," I confirmed. "And I don't think it likes me."

"Come on," I said, heading back to our car so we could get our stuff. "Apparently this guy wants to speak to me."

...

We walked out of the station and I immediately spotted the guy from the train. With his short black hair and tourist clothes, he looked on edge. No, the better word was nervous.

I stopped in front of him, Alex and Robert somewhat behind me. "You wanted to talk to me?"

His blue eyes betrayed a hint of fear, before nodding. He rubbed the back of his head, looking uncertain. I assumed he was only around the age of twenty.

"You're Zeno?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah?"

"And," he looked hesitant, but asked, "Are you not here to kill me?"

I blinked. "Come again?"

He looked taken aback. "Are you not?"

"No," I shook my head. "Of course not. What made you..."

A memory. No, memories. People I had hunted. And a warning.

_"Let this be a warning to all those who leave or oppose Team Rocket. We will not hesitate to kill you. Next time something like this happens, there will be more bodies dropped."_

Right as my mind had come to the conclusion it had been reaching for, the person in front of me confirmed it. "I thought you had come to kill me because I had left Team Rocket."

"What's your name?" I asked, my eyes closed.

"Preston," he responded, fear in his voice.

I saw the file. I had memorized all of them. He had died in an incident that seemed somewhat suspicious as there was no body found, so he had been on my list, just not at the top since he had only been a grunt.

"I don't know how long you've been running," I said, looking him dead in the eyes. "Because if I was able to find you by accident, then you better keep running. If Team Rocket knows your alive, then you're dead. They will kill traitors."

He looked scared now, but also more confused. "You mean, you're not going to kill me?"

I shook my head once more. "I already said no. Besides, I've left that life behind as well. I, like you, am no longer part of Team Rocket."

His eyes widened in surprise and tears welled in them. "Oh thank Arceus. I barely managed to get away from the organization over a year ago. I always thought you would be the one to come after me. When I saw you on the train, I just didn't know what to think."

I felt conflicted. I was sorry for him, but I was also scared since Alex and Robert were seeing and hearing everything going on. I had told them my story before, but this time, they were actually seeing someone genuinely afraid of me because of my evil reputation. But, I only had myself to blame. So, it was up to me to fix this.

"Look," I put my hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump slightly, but he didn't pull away. "I know what you're feeling. Proton gave me a visit when he visited me in Alola. Nearly killed my friends too."

I looked back at them, hope burning in me. Relief washed over me as I saw their kind smiles, both probably knowing how much conflict was going on inside of me.

I looked back at the former Team Rocket member. "That fear, the one resonating deep within you, I know it well. I don't blame you for that fear of me. It's well deserved."

"But," I smiled. "If you're willing, let me help you. I can tell you a place where you'll find a couple people like us, runaways from Team Rocket. It's the least I can do."

Preston's eyes glimmered with hope. "You- you would really do that?"

I nodded and he nearly broke down into tears. "Thank you. Oh Arceus, thank you. All this running, sometimes I feel like at the end of the road will be Team Rocket waiting for me."

"No more," I said. "You won't have to run anymore. And if you ever end up having to, you won't be alone. Head to Vaniville Town, second house on the left when you enter through the main gate. There should be a couple familiar people there. I'll tell them to expect you."

He nodded, wiping away his tears. "I don't know how I can thank you, not after suspecting of you having come here to kill me."

"I don't deserve your thanks," I said, smiling sadly. "Just remember, you're not alone anymore."

I watched him leave back into the station and I felt something within me. I had given him hope and in return, had given myself some as well.

"You okay?" Alex asked, concerned as she gently held my hand.

"Yeah," I said, staring at where Preston had entered the station. "I think so. I was always so concerned with what my friends thought of me, that I had forgotten what the people I hunted were feeling. That fear, it was so real. So deserving."

"But," I set my gaze. "I've changed. I know that. But that won't stop many from fearing me. I have to do something about that."

"Alola didn't make much headlines since it wasn't really connected to any other region," I said, holding up a hand, closing it into a fist. "I'll win the Kalos League. I will continue to help stop the threats in this region, even if it makes national attention. I will let the world know that I am no villain. I will let them know that their hope can be placed in me!"

**An interesting chapter for sure. I hope you all enjoyed it and the multiple things I included in it. Whenever I get an update out, whether it be this weekend or the next, it will be for TMR 2. If you haven't read the first Mysterious Region book, you should while you wait for updates for LDOC. It's way more original than this series and fleshes out a lot of details and lore. Anyway, till next update. Toodles**


	31. Chapter 30: A Growing Experience

"That's one heck of a big tree," Robert commented as we all stared up the massive trunk that reached high into the sky, a forest practically growing atop it. "And we have to climb it to get to the gym?"

"That's what Nurse Joy said," Alex put her hand on the door in the side of the hill, the gym symbol above it. "You already got your three picked out?"

I nodded. "Rookidee for sure. If this is a Grass gym, then he should be perfect. I'll use Mawile as well."

I felt the pokeball on my belt. "And Frogadier."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "You sure? This is a Grass gym."

I smiled. "I didn't use him in the last gym battle. Besides, it's a good way to see how much stronger the two of us have gotten."

Alex nodded and pushed open the gym doors. We walked through the hill, earth surrounding us, roots sticking out from the dirt. Then we came to an opening and beyond that a giant earthen room. Huge roots connected both floor and ceiling, a vine dangling in front of us.

Grabbing hold of it, I began pulling myself up, Alex and Robert behind me. I heaved myself up onto solid ground and stared up. We were in the tree, the inside hollowed out. Stairways and paths were carved in the tree, leading all the way far up.

"This is crazy," Robert said, standing next to me. "Is the tree even still alive at this point?"

"Indeed it is," a guy said, who was sitting on a log close by. He wore gardeners clothes, a huge pair of hedge shears beside him. He wore his long black hair in a ponytail, striking blue eyes set on us three. "I take it your challengers?"

"Yes," Alex said. "Are you the gym leader?"

He nodded. "I am now. My mentor, Ramos, passed away not too long ago. He used to be the gym leader, but now I am."

He stood, holding the shears over his shoulder. "Follow me."

He led us to the middle of the grassy area where a battlefield was drawn out, line by different colors of grass. Several stumps stuck out of the ground, decorating the battlefield. He stopped when he reached his spot on the battlefield, sticking the shears into the ground beside him.

He whistled, then shouted, "Come on boy!"

"Yessir!" a young boy called back, picking himself up from a section of tall grass. He wore a similar outfit to the gym leader, his dirty blonde hair tussled about. "Who will be challenging the gym leader today?"

Alex nodded at me and let me go first. I grinned and took my place. "I will."

"May I know your name challenger?" the kid asked.

"Zeno," I responded.

He nodded. "The gym battle between Zeno the challenger and Eric the Coumarine Gym Leader will now begin! Each side will have the use of three Pokemon and the battle will be over when either trainer's Pokemon are unable to continue! Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon!"

"This will actually be my third battle as a gym leader," Eric admitted, drawing a pokeball. "I had my second just earlier today. She was an interesting challenger to say the least. But," He held his pokeball up high. "That loss has only inspired me to take this more seriously. Prepare yourself Zeno, for I, Eric, the newest gym leader of Coumarine City, shall come with the full force of the forest! Let's go, Nuzleaf!"

"You too, Mawile!" I shouted, throwing out the Steel and Fairy type.

"Just like before," I said. "Let's beat them together! Fairy Wind!"

"Meet it with Air Cutter!" Eric shouted.

Nuzleaf drew his hand back and chopped it forwards, the sharp wind cutting through Fairy Wind.

"Now use Razor Leaf!" Eric commanded.

Nuzleaf flung back both hands, a dozen sharp leaves floating around him. He fired them off and I shouted, "Use Crunch to take them out!"

Mawile turned and her back jaw opened wide and crunched down on the leaves, stopping the attack.

"Get in close," Eric said. "And use Brick Break!"

Nuzleaf ran forwards, right hand glowing.

"Perfect," I grinned. "Sucker Punch!"

Mawile launched forwards, skidding along the ground, and twisting her body to slam the side of her jaw into Nuzleaf's stomach, sending him flying backwards.

"Now Play Rough!" I yelled.

Mawile leaped towards Nuzleaf, who was just recovering from the previous attack.

"Nature Power!"

An orb flashed in front of Nuzleaf, transforming into an Energy Ball, which shot into Mawile, blasting her backwards.

"Sunny Day!" Eric shouted and Nuzleaf blasted an orb of light into the air, brightening up the arena.

"Iron Head!" I shouted.

Mawile launched herself forwards, her head and back jaw hardening into iron.

"Solar Blade!" Eric yelled.

Nuzleaf raised his right hand, absorbing the sunlight, then unleashing a blade of green energy. He swung it down, slamming Mawile into the ground with the sheer force of power. Then Mawile burst through the energy, body coated with iron, before dissolving.

"Again!" Eric commanded. "Solar Blade!"

"Iron Defense!" I roared.

Mawile leaped, wincing as the blade of energy blasted against her side, but her defenses were greater than they were before. She was knocked to the side slightly, but still managed to get in front of Nuzleaf.

"Solar Blade!"

"Crunch!"

Just as Nuzleaf swung the blade around diagonally to the left, Mawile ducked low and shot to Nuzleaf's left side, back jaw clamping around Nuzleaf and jumped into the air. Nuzleaf cried out in pain as the jaw tightened and Mawile prepared to toss him to the ground.

"Fairy Wind!" I shouted.

Mawile twirled midair and blasted Nuzleaf into the earth with a surge of Fairy Wind. Mawile landed back on the ground, Nuzleaf having just fainted.

"Nuzleaf is unable to battle!" the boy called out. "Gym leader Eric, please bring out your next Pokemon!"

Eric returned Nuzleaf and tossed out a Grovyle. "You may have taken out my first Pokemon, but don't think because of that it'll be easier to win!"

"I would never dream of it," I grinned. "Mawile, prepare a Sucker Punch!"

Mawile's back jaw snarled and she prepared to charge.

"Leaf Blade!" Eric said, thrusting out his hand.

Grovyle ran forwards, the leaves on his arms glowing bright green.

"GO!" I shouted.

Mawile ran to meet him, preparing to twist her body.

"Solar Beam!"

Grovyle halted his run, skidding along the earthen ground, and thrust his hand forwards, a beam of green energy blasting into Mawile head-on. She crashed into the ground, creating a groove in the earth. She stood, but was running out of energy.

"Mawile," I said, holding out her pokeball. "Return."

With a flash of red light, she returned with a surprised look on her face.

"Fighting until you give out isn't what I like to do," I said. "Besides, you already helped enough. Now, let the rest of your team finish the job."

I threw out another pokeball. "Come on, Frogadier!"

He appeared on the battlefield, taking in his opponent.

"A Water type," Eric nodded, amused. "Are you sure you understand Typings?"

"Type advantage doesn't mean everything," I narrowed my eyes. "Quick Attack!"

Frogadier burst forwards, slamming into Grovyle.

"Solar Beam!" Eric yelled.

"Double Team!" I shouted.

Frogadier copied himself into a dozen others, over half being disintegrated by the beam of energy.

"Now use Cut!" I ordered.

The Frogadiers leaped at the Grass type, all slashing downwards with their blades.

After getting slashed in the arm, Grovyle leaped backwards, but not before taking out the copies.

"Meet him with Leaf Blade!" Eric commanded.

Both Pokemon leaped at one another, their blades clashing against each other. Grovyle slashed towards Frogadier's chest, but the Water type blocked the attack, then slashed up diagonally. Grovyle winced in pain, then Eric called out, "Mega Drain!"

Grovyle's claws glowed and Frogadier fell to one knee as his energy was being sapped.

"Smokescreen!" I shouted.

Black smoke filled the arena as Frogadier leaped out of it and near me.

"Leaf Blade!"

Grovyle burst from the smoke, leaves glowing.

"Double Team," I said. "Then use Power-Up Punch!"

Grovyle slashed through multiple copies, then Frogadier slammed his fist into his side, knocking him away.

"Don't let up!" I encouraged. "Quick Attack!"

Frogadier appeared in front of Grovyle, sending him crashing through the dirt with a kick.

"Don't get knocked down!" Eric shouted. "Energy Ball!"

Grovyle leaped into the air, firing two green energy balls.

"Slash right through them!" I commanded.

Frogadier formed the blade in his hand as he slashed through both in quick succession.

"Back to me!" Eric ordered and Grovyle leaped back to stand in front of the gym leader.

"Now prepare a Solar Beam," he said.

"Don't let them!" I yelled. "Quick Attack!"

Frogadier ran straight for the Grass type, who was enveloped in a green aura.

"Now!" Eric grinned. "Solar Beam!"

"Water Pulse!" I shouted.

Grovyle fired the beam of energy, but Frogadier managed to propel himself into the air with the Water Pulse.

"Get him!" Eric shouted.

Grovyle swung his hand around, bringing the beam around to Frogadier.

"Protect yourself with Water Pulse!" I commanded.

With the beam coming on his left, Frogadier thrust his right hand in that direction, a sphere of water forming. The Solar Beam made contact with the move, blasting Frogadier to the right and away from the Solar Beam.

"Don't slow down!" I shouted. "Cut!"

Frogadier ran full tilt for Grovyle, a blade forming in his hand.

"Leaf Blade!" Eric roared.

Grovyle ran towards Frogadier, blades glowing. Both zoomed past each other, blades slashing as they went. Frogadier immediately collapsed to the ground as Grovyle skidded to a halt. Then the Grass type fell backwards, fainted.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle," the boy called. "Both trainers, please bring out your final Pokemon!"

Frogadier rose to his feet, clutching his left arm, exhausted, but happy.

"Nice going, Frogadier!" I cheered, grinning.

"Impressive," Eric said, returning his Pokemon. "Overcoming type advantage like that. Truly amazing."

"Thanks," I said, returning Frogadier. "But now, this is where things are truly decided."

"Indeed," Eric nodded, throwing out his last Pokemon. "Let's finish them, Gogoat!"

"Let's win this together," I tossed out Rookidee. "Show me just how strong you are! We may have lost our last battle, but this time it will be different!"

Rookidee chirped and focused on Gogoat, the little bird hunkering down slightly.

"Now then," I thrust out my hand. "Pluck!"

Rookidee burst into the sky and zoomed at Gogoat.

"Seed Bomb!" Eric yelled.

Gogoat began stomping on the ground, huge seeds bursting from the earth and into the sky.

"Dodge!" I shouted.

Rookidee maneuvered in the air, dodging each giant seed.

"Razor Leaf!"

Dozens of sharp leaves circled Gogoat before being shot at Rookidee. They battered against the Flying type, making him break off from his attack.

"Don't give up!" I shouted. "Use your small body to your advantage!"

Rookidee shook himself and flew low, just above the ground, heading straight for Gogoat.

"Take Down!" Eric grinned.

Gogoat lowered his horns and charged.

"To the right!" I commanded. "And use Pluck!"

Rookidee weaved to the side and struck a hit into Gogoat's right flank.

"Grass Knot!"

Rookidee was shot into the air as the grass exploded beneath him.

"Seed Bomb!" Eric yelled.

Rookidee's eyes widened as the giant seeds soared above him, before coming back down.

"Fly out of there!" I shouted.

Rookidee flapped his wings as hard as he could, being forced to fly lower and lower. The seeds struck the ground all around the Flying type, the force of their impact blowing Rookidee forwards. He crashed through the dirt, barely managing to get up.

"Looks like this will be my first win," Eric held up his hand. "Gogoat, Energy Ball."

"Rookidee!" I shouted. "Fly into the sky!"

Rookidee's eyes narrowed as he shot into the sky, but Gogoat aimed and shot the Energy Ball. Then, Rookidee began flying straight at the attack. As he flew, he started glowing, growing bigger, his wings extending. The Energy Ball broke apart upon impact and he began spinning. He slammed into Gogoat, spinning like a drill, his beak making a buzzing sound, like a drill. After a second, Gogoat was knocked backwards, groaning in pain. The newly evolved Pokemon flew back up into the air, flying above the battlefield.

"Get him with Vine Whip!" Eric shouted.

Gogoat stood up and vines extended from his leafy fur and shot towards my Pokemon.

As Robert began scanning him, the Flying type dodged the vines and caught one in his beak.

_"Corvisquire, the Raven Pokemon and the evolved form of Rookidee. Smart enough to use tools in battle, these Pokémon have been seen picking up rocks and flinging them or using ropes to wrap up enemies."_

Corvisquire zoomed around Gogoat several times, keeping low to the ground, before skidding along the ground, tugging on the Vine Whip with all his strength. The vine snapped against Gogoat's legs, causing him to fall to the ground, immobile.

"Wha-!?" Eric's eyes were wide, shocked.

"Now then!" I shouted. "Corvisquire! Finish this with Drill Peck!"

Corvisquire squawked and his beak glowed. He zoomed into Gogoat, driving his beak the Grass type's flank. A whirring sound, then the Flying type from the Galar region flew back up, Gogoat having fainted.

Corvisquire flew back to me and landed on my held out arm.

I grinned and stroked his feathers. "Great job out there, Corvisquire. I didn't realize you were this powerful."

He squawked happily and closed his eyes as I continued to stroke him.

Eric walked over after returning Gogoat. "Amazing. I don't think I've ever seen a Pokemon battle like that."

"Neither have I," I admitted. "Looks like I'll need to think of new battle strategies."

Corvisquire croaked in agreement and Eric laughed. "I'll say. Using Gogoat's Vine Whip against him was ingenious. I'll have to watch out for that in the future."

He held out his hand, a badge gleaming in his open palm. "Congratulations on defeating me. As your reward, the Plant Badge. This marks your progression through the Kalos league halfway complete. May your battles with the other four gym leaders go smoothly."

"Thanks," I nodded as Alex came forwards.

"Now then," Alex grinned. "I hope you still have time for another challenger."

Eric chuckled. "No rest for the weary, eh?"

He grinned. "As a matter of fact, I do. But, just because you saw me battle doesn't mean you now have an advantage. In fact, I have a separate team for occasions such as this."

Alex shrugged. "Fine by me."

When she grinned, there was a certain glint in her eyes. "Because I'll only need to burn your whole team away."

**Chapter 30 already. Wow. Only about 50 or so chapters left to go at this point. 11 until the halfway point. Then I'll do an author's note about... something. It'll also include a midway summary, just like I did for HBoD. Anyway, I have so many things planned before we reach the halfway point. Next chapter will be something, then we move plot further after that with two more chapter being two parts. And I have something, "special" planned for Chapters 40 and 41, the halfway point. You'll just have to wait and see what it is. Until next chapter readers. You're all in for a wild ride. Toodles**


	32. Chapter 31: A Rival's Rage

"A Ludicolo," Alex scratched her hair in frustration. "He had a freakin' Ludicolo!"

"You won though," Robert pointed out. "No idea why you're complaining."

"Hmph," Alex knitted her hands together behind her head as we left the gym and back into Coumarine City. "I was really looking forward to wiping his whole team with my Fire types."

I chuckled. "Probably a good thing you didn't. You might've burned the whole gym down."

"So," Robert looked down the main road. "Pokemon Center first, then we head out for the Power Plant?"

I nodded. "Of course. Have you gotten any messages?"

Robert pulled out his Holo Caster. "Yeah, during your battle. Ash and everyone else is keeping an eye on the Power Plant on Route 13. They're saying there's multiple entrances and none look like they've been forced open. Nothing suspicious either, so they're just waiting on us."

"Let's hurry then," Alex said. "We'll need to ask Nurse Joy for the speed recovery service."

"Doesn't that cost money?" I asked

"Yeah," Robert nodded. "Because it's a new and there's not a lot made, while it's still being fully developed, to use it you have to pay."

"How much?" I asked, worried for my wallet.

"Actually," Alex held up the card Sycamore had given each of us. "With this, I don't think we'll need to."

"Explain to me why we haven't done this before?" I asked.

"Probably because not every PMC has one," Robert said. "But this one here does, I saw it. So, we'll do that and we'll be on our way. But I'm gonna buy potions and revives just in case. Just gonna stock myself full of them."

"Probably a good idea," I said. "Anyway, let's hurry."

...

"Route 13 is just up ahead," Robert pointed to where the grass gave way to the badlands.

"Let's hurry it up then," I said, picking up the pace. "We should meet Ash as soon as..."

I slowed to a stop. Stepping out from behind a huge rock was Clara, a pokeball clutched in her hand. The ground crunched slightly beneath her black combat boots as she stood in our way, her gaze set on me.

"Zeno," she said, blue eyes cold. "It's been a while."

"Clara?" I was unsure of why she was here. "We're kinda in a hurry, so please move."

"No," she glared at me. "Because we're going to battle, right here, right now."

"Okay, seriously," Alex sounded impatient. "We're really busy right now, so-"

"NO!" Clara's eyes looked wild, rage burning within them. "You WILL battle me, Zeno."

I stepped forwards. "Clara, I thought you wanted to stay away from us."

"I did," she said, gripping a fist. "Then I kept seeing your face and knew how much I needed to pay you back for all you put me through! I'm going to completely wipe your team away!"

I saw that there was no reasoning with her. I unclipped a pokeball and let it drop into my hand.

"Zeno," I heard Alex behind me.

"It's fine," I said, focused on Clara. "You two, go on ahead. I'll stay here and battle her. You guys need to get to the Power Plant. I'll try to finish this as fast as possible."

"But," Alex stopped as Robert said something to her.

Reluctantly, Alex passed by me, but Robert stopped by my side.

He handed me a small bag. "Revives. She's gonna keep you going until you're all spent."

I nodded. "Thanks."

He grimaced and hurried after Alex.

"How many Pokemon?" I asked.

"Does it matter?" she chuckled, grinning madly. "No matter what, I'll demolish your Pokemon. So come at me with everything you have!"

"Fine," I let out Arcanine. "Don't hold back, buddy."

"Barbaracle!" Clara shouted, throwing her pokeball into the air, releasing the dual Water and Rock type. "Razor Shell!"

His claws extended, glowing blue. He charged forwards, but I shouted, "Arcanine! Extreme Speed!"

Arcanine knocked Barbaracle into the sky with his head as he ran past and proceeded to knock him back and forth.

"Surf!" Clara roared.

Water began swirling around Barbaracle, cascading all around him. Arcanine was swept away, breaking off his attack.

"Stone Edge!"

Pointed stones began swirling around him as he thrust out his arm, the stones shooting at Arcanine.

"Extreme Speed!" I shouted.

Arcanine rocketed forwards, ducking beneath the jagged stones, the sudden change in wind blasting the stones away. He slammed his side into Barbaracle, knocking the Pokemon back several meters.

Clara was growing impatient. "Razor Shell!"

The Rock type formed the blade once more and charged. I knew I couldn't let this go on for a long time. And these were still our first Pokemon.

"Extreme Speed!" I yelled once more.

Barbaracle was tossed into the air, more stones beginning to swirl around him.

"Let's use a move we haven't used in a while," I said. "Dragon Pulse!"

Legendary energy began swirling around Arcanine's head, forming into a sphere in front of his open maw. Then he roared and the beam of energy shot forwards, blasting through the Stone Edge and slamming into Barbaracle. He fell to the ground, weak and barely standing.

"Remember what I said," I held Clara's gaze. "Type advantage doesn't mean everything."

Her face twisted with rage as Arcanine finished Barbaracle with a Flamethrower.

"Augh!" She gripped the sides of her head. She lifted her head to glare at me. "Damn you, Zeno. This battle isn't over. I will win yet."

"Clara," I felt a pang of sympathy for her. She'd been forced to go through something, because she was with me. "This... we shouldn't be doing this. You're not in a right state of mind."

She lowered her head and her body began to shake. For a moment, I thought she was crying. But then her chuckled became louder, until she was laughing. Then she stopped, her gaze focused and eyes blazing. "I am in a right state of mind. Probably more so than ever before. I have a goal. I have to beat you! I _will _beat you! I will beat your team and I will show you I am stronger! I have to pay you back for what you put me through!"

I gripped my fist. "Fine. I tried. But, even if I do lose, I will not make it easy. This time, I will go all out."

She grinned as she returned her Pokemon and sent out her Heliolisk. "You'd better. Parabolic Charge!"

Heliolisk's frills opened wide, electricity blasting in all directions. Arcanine crouched low to the ground in pain as he took damage.

"Now use Surf!" Clara shouted.

Heliolisk surged into the air atop a column of water, then is all cascaded into Arcanine, sending him rolling on the ground.

"What!?" my eyes were wide.

"That's right!" Clara shouted with glee. "Parabolic Charge!"

With that Electric move, Arcanine collapsed. I returned him and sent out Lucario.

"I already said," I clicked the ring into place on my left wrist. "I'm not holding back."

I pressed two fingers against the orb and blue and white ribbons of light connected Lucario and I. "Let our trust never wane and never our fighting spirit overcome any obstacle! Let's show them our strength! Lucario, Mega Evolve!"

I held up my wrist high as Lucario began to change. With a burst of light, he had mega evolved. Aura swirled around him as he stood tall, staring down Heliolisk.

Clara's eyes had widened, but she regained her composure. "We can and will beat you, no matter what! Discharge!"

"Aura!" I roared.

Lucario swung his fist, a wind of aura blasting away the electricity.

"Power-UP Punch!" I shouted.

Lucario shot forwards, cracking the earth beneath his feet, pulling back a glowing fist. He slammed it into Heliolisk's stomach, sending the Electric type flying backwards.

"Parabolic Charge!"

"Again!" I commanded.

Lucario leaped through the electricity, slamming his fist into Heliolisk, fainting him as he punched him into the earth.

Clara didn't say anything as she returned her Electric type. She then sent out a Pokemon that she didn't have before, which the sight of surprised me.

"Chandelure," she said, thrusting out her hand. "Mystical Fire!"

Chandelure spun around, the blue and red flames scattering, several hitting Lucario. He winced, but held his ground.

"Bone Rush!" I shouted. "Let's go!"

Lucario formed two bones in his hands and ran forwards.

"Inferno!"

A raging column of fire blasted upwards and outwards, eager to engulf Lucario.

"Blast it away with your Aura!" I commanded.

Lucario swung the bones forward and out of his hands, carrying his aura with them, creating a path straight to Chandelure. He charged forwards, forming another long bone.

"Pain Split!"

Just as Lucario had slammed Chandelure with the bone, the Ghost type's body glowed, the same ominous glow appearing around Lucario. He yelped in pain, tumbling forwards.

"Fire Spin!" Clara shouted, grinning.

Chandelure spun around Lucario, the flames swirling around the Steel type, even when Chandelure spun away.

"Aura!" I yelled.

Lucario tried, but for whatever reason, he couldn't. Somewhere inside, I felt our connection waver. I had a feeling he wouldn't be able to hold his mega form for much longer.

"Heh!" Clara laughed. "Surely you didn't think you could master Mega Evolution so easily!? Inferno!"

"Bone Rush!" I shouted desperately.

Lucario swung his bones, trying to fend off the onslaught of fire, but was pushed back as the fire engulfed him. He collapsed to the ground, slightly charred. Then, he leaped to his feet, his pupils smaller, the aura around him growing. I gripped my chest over my heart. Our connection just spiked, which I didn't think was a good thing. He blasted forwards, forming a huge bone and smashing Chandelure to the earth, a dust cloud billowing upwards. Both Pokemon were obscured. Only when the dust settled could we see that both Pokemon had fainted, Lucario's form turning back, our connection lost.

"So much for having a strong bond," Clara smirked, returning Chandelure. "Now with him out of the way, it's time for you to lose."

"Seems like our bond wasn't strong enough," I spoke to Lucario's pokeball when I returned him. "But that only means we need to work harder."

I clipped the ball back to my belt and sent out Mawile. "You're still down more Pokemon than me, Clara. I wouldn't get cocky."

"It won't stay like that for long," Clara sent out a Bisharp. "Trust me. Brick Break!"

"Sucker Punch!" I shouted. "Yeah, your cockiness better not stay long."

Both Pokemon collided, their moves causing them to bounce off one another.

"Play Rough!" I roared.

Mawile crouched and sprung forwards, tackling Bisharp to the dirt, a dust cloud forming.

"Perfect!" Clara grinned. "Guillotine!"

Long glowing blades emerged from the dust cloud and sliced in a crossing motion. Bisharp jumped back as the dust settled to reveal Mawile had fainted.

I returned Mawile with a grimace. I had to get rid of Bisharp and fast.

"Corvisquire," I yelled. "Come on out!"

Corvisquire croaked and narrowed his eyes at Bisharp as he hovered.

"He looks weak," Clara sneered. "Night Slash!"

Bisharp ran forwards and jumped, a force of dark wind swirling around his right arm. He slashed and the dark winds collided with Corvisquire.

"Now!" I shouted. "Revenge!"

A red aura enveloped the Flying type and he swung his body around, smashing himself against Bisharp. The Dual Steel and Dark type was flung backwards, skidding along the ground.

"Drill Peck!"

Corvisquire began spinning really fast, becoming a blur as his beak glowed. He rocketed forwards, driving his beak into Bisharp's chest, creating a bigger groove in the dirt.

"Guillotine!" Clara commanded once more.

"Air Slash!" I shouted. "Not this time, Clara!"

Corvisquire flapped his wings, the force of the air being slashed pushing him up into the sky and out of reach of Bisharp's elongated blades.

"Metal Claw!" Clara thrust out her hand.

"Meet her with Revenge!" I commanded.

Both Pokemon collided, Bisharp taking more damage than Corvisquire.

"Keep it up!" I encouraged.

"Get him with Guillotine!" Clara looked pissed, having expected Corvisquire to be weak.

"Swagger!" I grinned.

An aura glowed around Corvisquire, which caused Bisharp to roar in anger, a red glow around him. He leaped and swung his blades, but completely missed the Flying type.

"One more time," I narrowed my eyes. "Revenge!"

Corvisquire dived and tucked in his wings.

"Metal Burst!"

Bisharp crouched to the ground, eyes closed. Corvisquire slammed into him, then an explosion of metal. The burst flung both Pokemon away from each other, both collapsing on the ground.

"We're both on our last Pokemon," I said, returning Corvisquire.

"Thanks for stating the obvious," Clara said drily, holding up the pokeball I knew to contain Scizor. "Now it's time for me to finish you where you stand."

"Let's go!" we both yelled at the same time, sending out our final Pokemon. Frogadier crouched in a battle position as Scizor narrowed his eyes and raised a metal claw.

"Bullet Punch!"

"Cut!"

Both Pokemon sprang for each other. Scizor struck faster, his fists a hail of bullets. Frogadier managed to stop the attack with the blade in his hand and flung himself over the Steel Bug type.

"Power-Up Punch!" I shouted.

Frogadier twisted himself mid-air, fist glowing. He struck a blow on Scizor's back, rolling on the ground.

"Night Slash!" Clara yelled.

Winds of dark energy swirled around Scizor's claws as he turned his head slightly to look at Frogadier. Then he spun around so fast, I didn't have time to give a command. Frogadier was sent flying backwards, crashing against a rock, small red pebbles falling to the ground.

"Swords Dance," Clara said, triumph blazing in her eyes as Scizor's body glowed with the stat boost.

"Smokescreen!" I shouted.

The area immediately flooded with black smoke, which Scizor flew out of, landing on the ground.

"Now!" I threw out my hand. "Power-Up Punch!"

Clara nor Scizor had noticed Frogadier had escaped the smoke quicker than Scizor had, waiting to strike from behind. He lunged forwards, fist glowing.

"Double Hit!"

Scizor threw back his leg, slamming it into Frogadier's middle and used the momentum to swing himself around to deliver a blow to the head. Frogadier crumpled to the ground, fainted.

"Heh," I couldn't see Clara's eyes, but she was smiling.

She walked up to me, eyes cold. "You're weaker than I, as it should be."

She didn't say anything for a moment, then, "We _will_ meet again. Not because I want to, because I need to be there to pick up after you. I've heard about that attack in Shalour City and the murder on the train. All those times, you were there. As I said before, you're bad luck. Those around you are going to get hurt. Misfortune will always be there waiting for you just around the corner. Then there will be me, picking up the mess you leave behind. Someone has to."

She snapped her fingers and her Scizor scooped her up in his arms. "You have some healing to do. I'll be going on ahead. You said you had business at the Power Plant? Well, looks like I have to make sure things don't go totally south because of you."

Her Scizor turned and ran through the badlands, kicking up red dust as they went.

I gripped a fist as I knelt next to Frogadier. "You're not wrong. Misfortune does seem to follow me wherever I go."

"But," I lifted my gaze to stare at their retreating form. "That will never stop me. If there's people, innocent young girls in need of saving, I will do what I can."

I smiled. "So thanks, thanks for helping. You may be doing this purely out of spite, but I know there's good in you. Or else you wouldn't be doing this. And maybe, maybe I can help you see the light, like I did."

**Next two chapters promise to be some good ones. Sorry for the long wait for this update. Been busy with finals and setting up my new D&D campaign. But now I should hopefully be back for weekly updates. Next week will be for TMR 2, so that'll be something to look forward to if you enjoy my other series. Till next time. Toodles**


	33. Chapter 32: TroubleAtThePowerPlant Pt 1

I panted as I came to a stop. Frogadier, back to full energy thanks to the revives Robert gave me, hopped onto a rock and gazed around.

"I really wish we had a map," I rested one hand on the rock. "I thought the Power Plant would be easier to find."

"Dang," I bashed my fist against the rock, wincing at the sudden pain. "That battle with Clara took too long. Alex and Robert are probably already battling."

I looked up to see something speeding towards me. Arcanine came to a halt, kicking up red dust.

I coughed. "Find anything, buddy?"

He growled and nodded his head in the direction he had come. He looked exhausted, so I returned him to his pokeball. "You'll need your energy for later. C'mon, Frogadier."

We took off at a run, Frogadier running ahead of me. Not long later, I could see a huge building in the distance. The ground dipped ahead of me into a valley surrounded by plateaus. I came to a halt near the edge alongside Frogadier, gazing at the gleaming structure. Solar panels were installed on the outside, metal spikes surround the main building. I could see several generators around the building as well, but no signs of suspicious activity. The gate surrounding the perimeter of the Power Plant looked untouched, gate in a similar state.

"Nothing," I breathed. "But looks can be deceiving."

I glanced around and studied my surroundings. To my right I spotted a path downwards. However, close to it was a tiny metal structure, a door on the side. Running over to it, I noted the electronic keypad on it.

"Another entrance perhaps?" I wondered, stepping back. "Frogadier, Water Pulse."

Frogadier flung a sphere of water at the electronic lock, short-circuiting it. With a hiss, the door slid open from the middle. Taking a cautious step inside the small room, I noticed a panel on the wall, a single button adorning it.

"An elevator then," I said as Frogadier joined me inside. "Let's see where it leads."

I was pretty sure this wasn't where my friends went, but it could possibly lead to them. Even if it didn't, I was certain my friends could handle themselves against Team Flare. So I pressed the button. The elevator doors closed and we began descending.

"Be on the ready," I advised. "Who knows what's waiting for us below."

Without a sound, we came to a stop and the doors slid open. A metal hallway lay before us, lit by blue lighting. At the end was a door, slightly ajar.

Nodding to Frogadier, we crept silently towards the door, stopping when we could hear voices on the other side. Peeking through the door, I saw a large room, lined with computer monitors on rows of tables and people held hostage. Scientists, Engineers, and workers. They were all on the ground in a corner, Houndooms and Mightyenas stalking around them, Team Flare grunts scattered around the room. Several were busy typing on the computers with rapid movement. Two women walked into view, both reminding me of that scientist I had met before with the green hair. These two had different color hair, one purple, one blue. They wore the same red suits, Purple wearing shorts and a purple tie, while Blue wore a skirt and a blue tie. Both wore visors, one purple and one blue.

Gripping my fist, I found that these colors annoyed me greatly for a reason I could not identify. Unhooking Corvisquire's pokeball, I crouched, other hand on the door, ready to spring. "Get ready, Frogadier. We're going in on 3, 2, 1-!"

Swinging the door wide open, I ran into the room, launching the pokeball across the room. Frogadier jetted ahead of me, taking the opportunity of surprise to slam a glowing fist into the nearest Houndoom, knocking him away.

"Wha-!" Purple cried out in surprise.

Hitting a monitor, my pokeball opened, releasing Corvisquire, who flew over the heads of the grunts.

"Air Slash!" I yelled, slamming a grunt onto the floor with my body weight.

The rest of Team Flare were getting over their confusion by now, but already Frogadier and Corvisquire had managed to take out a Houndoom and a Scraggy by the looks of it. They were taking up a defensive formation, aiming to surround me and blocking the doorway. With the hostages present in a confined room, no matter how large, it would be a hazard to have Arcanine battling.

"A trainer got in," Purple said almost robotically. "84.556% chance this is one of the trainers Bryony mentioned."

"Indeed," Blue adjusted her visor, bending slightly as if she were trying to get a better view of me, despite only standing ten feet away. "This has to be the one called "Zeno"."

Frogadier stood back-to-back with me, facing the grunts behind me while Corvisquire perched on my outstretched right arm. I grinned. "Yeah, I'm Zeno. Allow me to be the one who stops your plans, Team Flare."

"Calculating," Purple tapped her visor. "You have approximately 15.346% chance of succeeding in beating all of us."

"Hey," I shrugged my left shoulder. "I've had worse odds."

"But," I focused on the two Flare Scientists. "I have to finish this quickly. I'll bet you aren't the only members of Team Flare causing trouble. And as much as I trust my friends, I trust you all even less."

The Houndooms and Mightyenas crouched next to their trainers, growling. Several Croagunks and Scraggys were released, all preparing to attack.

"Alright then," I grabbed another pokeball. "We'll take you all on!"

I launched Corvisquire back into the air and he slammed into a Scraggy as I released Mawile. "Go wild girl!"

She launched herself into the fray, slamming her jaw into a grunt's back and punching a Mightyena.

"Protect the hostages," I ordered Frogadier, who nodded and leaped over several grunts, landing in front of where the hostages were gathered. He punched two Houndooms in quick succession, his attack power growing in the process.

"That just leaves us," I glanced at six grunts and the two scientists.

"You can't beat us," Blue said with a laugh. "The odds of you alone beating us next to zero."

"16.539% chance now," Purple said. "He shall fall easily."

"Here's the thing," I crouched. "For scientific calculations, you need all the facts, which you don't possess."

I shot forwards, two grunts getting in my way, their Pokemon busy battling my Pokemon. I dropped to the smooth floor and slid, holding out both arms, tripping the grunts as I slid past them. They fell to the floor as I slammed my left hand on the floor, using the impact to launch myself to my feet. Another grunt was there in front of me, throwing a punch. I spun around and grabbed his arm, using his momentum to slam him forwards onto a table, knocking aside some expensive looking computers which smashed when they hit the floor.

I felt something cold approaching and before I could react, a jab to my side sent my flying. I crashed onto a further table down, falling to the floor with the computers. Groaning, I lifted my head to see a Weavile standing atop the grunt on the other table, frost coming off of her fist. Then something huge and purple rose from behind it, lifting a computer above its head.

"Crap," I nearly tripped getting to my feet, leaping to the side as the Drapion launched the computer. It crashed in the spot I had just been in and the Drapion was now picking up another computer, Weavile ready to leap at me.

"Lucario," I yelled, tossing his pokeball and he was released. "Bone Rush!"

He howled and launched forwards, forming two separate bones in each hand. He threw one and it collided with Drapion, causing him to drop the computer, it smashing to the floor. He swung the other bone with one hand, slamming it into Weavile's middle as she jumped, slamming her into Drapion, knocking both Pokemon back a few feet.

I glanced at either side of me. I was in-between two tables, and down each end was a grunt.

I cocked a grin. "Come at me boys."

They both gritted their teeth and rushed me. I grabbed the table in front of me and pulled back hard to the left, the side of it slamming into the grunt, computers falling to the ground as the grunt's head slammed into the table as he fell. I ducked as the other grunt swung a fist and I kicked his legs out from beneath him. As he fell, I rose halfway and slammed my arm into his head, slamming it into the side of the table.

As I rose, I saw Lucario had finished Weavile and was now locked in a battle with Drapion, avoiding his extendable arms. Mawile and Corvisquire had joined Frogadier in keeping Team Flare and their Pokemon away from the hostages, but they were weakening. Purple and Blue hadn't fled yet, both just observing the chaos.

Leaping over a table and using the next as momentum, I slammed into a grunt. He fell, but was getting back up as his buddies turned towards me, their attention now off the hostages. I backed up, seven of them surrounding me, fists raised.

"It's been a while since I've had to focus like this," I narrowed my gaze. "Feel honored."

As they all went at me at the same time, I grabbed two Grunts' arms and twisted my body, pulling them along with me. I slammed them into their companions, knocking most of them to the ground. I punched one in the face and sent a blow into his stomach. He stumbled backwards as another rushed from behind. I moved my head and his fist went by me. I jabbed my elbow backwards into his stomach and grabbed his wrist with my left hand, twisting it and flipping him onto his back atop two other grunts, causing them to release groans of pain.

"How is this possible!?" Blue sounded shocked as Lucario finished up Drapion, looking a bit tired.

"There's a 96.491% chance of failure," Purple said. "We should retreat."

Returning their Pokemon, they ran for the elevator. I made to run after them, but Blue threw an object my way.

"Lucario!" I shouted, throwing myself backwards, away from the smooth object. Lucario appeared next to the object, grabbing it and tossing it to the furthest part of the room. A blinding light filled the room as I fell to the ground. Gripping my head, I tried to fight the light by shutting my eyes tightly. My head pounded as I opened them seemingly an eternity later, my Pokemon and the hostages suffering the same fate. Looking around, I saw the grunts were gone. I stumbled towards the hallway, seeing the last couple grunts riding the elevator up.

"Dang it!" I slammed my fist into the side of the wall.

I breathed, trying to focus my mind. I returned my Pokemon, allowing them a chance to rest. I turned to the hostages. "You all okay."

I got murmurs and nods in response.

"Good," I breathed, turning to the computers. Or, what was left of them. Most had been smashed, except for a few. The room was in total disarray, tables moved around and broken computers lying broken on the floor. I found one that was still operational and began typing furiously. I was able to bring up live footage from security cameras. Some had views of the outside while others in metal hallways, rooms, and one with a huge creature. I enlarged that picture, tubes and wires connecting the huge red and blue creature to the room.

I gritted my teeth. It was definitely some sort of Pokemon, but the feed wasn't as clear as the rest, giving me a grainy picture. As far as I could tell, energy was being sucked out of it. As I watched, several people in Flare suits came into view, studying the creature. An alert appeared in the top right of the screen and I clicked on it. It connected several feeds at once, probably mapping out an area. On the farthest screen I saw Alex, Robert, and their Pokemon taking down several grunts. Alarms sounded off inside the room I was in and in the rooms on the screen as well. Then the computer shut off and no matter what I did it wouldn't turn on again.

"What is happening!?" I shouted over the noise.

A man in a lab coat stumbled forwards, clutching the table for support. "Intruders are detected in the E.E.R. The Experimental Energy Room. It's gone on lockdown. No one can get in or out now."

"My friends are in there," I glared at him. "I don't care about the poor ethical reasoning behind you all having a Pokemon hooked up to your machines for now. I need to know how to get there!"

A woman raised her hand. "You'll need to get into Power Plant itself. Find the Energy Control room and you could probably redirect the power there."

"Where's the E.E.R.?" I asked.

"Beneath the Power Plant itself," the scientist next to me replied.

The alarms petered off.

"Does that have any significance?" I asked.

He shook his head. "We already know there's intruders. Why keep sounding the alarm?"

Sighing, I ran to the elevator. "If I were you guys, I would call the Police."

I turned around once in the elevator. "But I'm pretty sure you want all of your secrets to stay a secret, huh."

I pressed the button and the elevator closed. Once back on the surface, I glanced around. No Team Flare members were in sight, but I knew there was still more in the main Power Plant.

I let out Arcanine and climbed onto his back. "Quick, to the Power Plant!"

He rocketed down the path towards the building and once we hit flat ground, he ran full tilt for the gate. He blew a stream of fire ahead of us, melting the metal. I flattened myself on his back as we ran through, the heat almost suffocating. Then we were in front of the building and I quickly got off his back.

"Let's get inside," I said and Arcanine rammed down the main doors. I stepped inside with him to find a group of Flare grunts, all slowly getting back up, groaning in pain.

The room was a recent battleground by the looks of it. Dent marks and fainted Pokemon.

"You guys should've stayed down from the first beating," I said, drawing one foot back. ""Cause you're all about to go back down."

Arcanine growled beside me and I glanced back outside, seeing more people arriving, but they weren't part of Team Flare.

"Hello, Zeno," Kamake said in her skintight black suit, the short-black haired Enzo beside her. His sharp features made him always seem like he was glaring, around a dozen Radiance grunts decked out in black jumpsuits behind them.

Kamake's cold calculating eyes narrowed. "Step aside Zeno. Let us handle this."

I stayed where I was. "No. You can't just be here to take care of Team Flare. You have your own agenda."

Enzo stepped forwards. "Move aside now or we'll have to take you down as well."

Glancing back at Team Flare, who were reviving their Pokemon, I looked back at Team Radiance.

"This is gonna be a pain," I rolled my neck, Arcanine ready at my side.

I focused on Team Flare. "Just this once, Kamake, we work together."

She came to stand next to me. "Good."

"Just know," I said, not looking away from the Flare grunts. "After we take care of Team Flare, you're next."

_To be continued..._

**Alright, yeah. The second chapter I uploaded today. Been a while since I had a double update, huh. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I might do another one tomorrow, the second part to this one, but I'm not sure. Till then. Toodles**


	34. Chapter 33: TroubleAtThePowerPlant Pt 2

"I need your opinion."

"Hm?" Robert had hauled himself atop a large rock, gazing across the badlands, the harsh sun beating down on the pair.

Alex sat with her back to the rock, pushing her hair out of her face, the wind thankfully blocked thanks to the stone. "What do you think Zeno thinks of me?"

Robert didn't answer for a full ten seconds, then responded with, "I'm almost certain he likes you, but..."

"But?" Alex looked up, but had to shield her eyes from the rays of the sun.

Robert sighed. "Look, I'm not the one you should be asking advice of. I'm really bad at this... But if you insist," Alex heard him get into a sitting position. "I'll try my hardest."

"You both admitted your feelings for each other back in Alola," Robert said. "However, I personally feel like things might've been rushed a little. Plus, with Zeno putting up a facade for most of the time, trying to be someone different, I don't think that made for an ideal relationship."

Alex pursed her lips, but didn't say anything, so Robert continued. "Then you both had no contact for six months. I'm sure you noticed the tension between you two, because I sure have. You both are friends, sure, but there's more of a grudging respect than actual feelings between the two of you, more so on Zeno's part."

Silence. Then, "Alex, do you like him?"

"I... I don't know," Alex admitted. "I thought I did, back in Alola. He was the only person I ever really felt a kinship with."

She got up and started walking in a direction, feeling the wind push her hair up, having her to tug her highlights out of her mouth. Robert landed on the ground and followed her.

"I did some thinking over those six months though," Alex said. "I was so sure I loved him, and I was actually kind of angry for him leaving for something so stupid. But at the same time, I think I knew it was for the best. He had changed when he came back from... you know."

Sighing, she stopped walking. "Maybe we did rush things back then. Maybe..."

Robert put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe take things slow this time, eh? We still have a ways to go before this journey comes to an end. Let your friendship grow, and maybe one day, it'll blossom into something beautiful. Talk with each other. Learn more about one another. And most important of all, understand one another. Make your feelings clear, make sure he makes his clear, and expect the path to be a bumpy one."

Alex just stared ahead for a minute, then finally said, "I don't know what you're talking about, you're really good at this kind of stuff."

"Heh," Robert held up both hands. "What can I say, I got talent. I just try to be humble about it."

Alex snorted. "Sure you do."

As they began walking once more, Alex said, "Thanks, Robert."

"Anytime."

...

"Hurry up and get this door open!" the female scientist snapped, her red visor flickering angrily. "Lysandre wants us to get this done quickly before anyone can interfere."

"This is so annoying," the bald man in the white suit crossed his arms as he watched the grunts trying to hack their way past the door in their way. It was singed from them already trying to bust it down with force. "How did the Champion even find out about us?"

"Bryony mentioned that several kids messed up their plans near Ambrette Town," the scientist growled, irritated. "They must've blabbed to the Champion and now we have to make sure our operations will succeed no matter what."

"Do you really think she's sending those kids after us," the bald admin narrowed his eyes behind his red shades.

"Hmph," the scientist tapped her visor. "If the rumors are to be true. It seems the Champion is busy with other matters. One that appears to be more dangerous than us."

"Ah," the admin chuckled. "Them. So they've finally been discovered. Things seem to be mostly going according to what Lysandre has said."

"Sir," a female grunt came running up. "Two trainers have entered the main doors to the Power Plant!"

"What!?" his face twisted into a snarl. "Already!?"

"So the worst has come to pass," the scientist said. "So be it."

She looked at the grunt. "Get all available grunts to back up the ones at the entrance. "If possible, take them out. Merely delaying them will mean success."

She stalked over to the grunt trying to hack the door panel and snatched the device away from him. "Give me this. I'll do it myself."

"I'll go assist them," the admin said, making his way to follow the grunt who had already left.

"No," the scientist said without looking back, her fingers flying over the digital keys. "We'll need you here. Even if they do make it past the grunts, _they_ won't be far behind. After all, they're after the same thing we are. We'll need your strength when they do arrive."

"Fair point," he nodded, hearing the distant sounds of battle.

...

Alex and Robert both hid behind a rock, looking over it. Down below was the Power Plant and they could see Team Flare. There were over two dozen regular grunts, all being leaded by a bald man in a white suit and a woman in a red skirt and uniform.

"That's a lot of people," Robert grimaced. "You sure we can take them all on?"

"We're going to have to," Alex responded. "Zeno is probably still busy battling Clara. Plus, he's confident we can handle this on our own."

"I guess we can't let his training go to waste," Robert sighed. "Even though it's left me sore in the morning more than once."

"Good," Alex grinned. "Zeno can't be the star of the show all the time. Let's go take them down."

...

"Flamethrower!"

Both Ninetales and Braixen shot jets of flames, holding back a Swalot and a Scrafty. Robert's Snorlax had barreled into several Houndooms, sending them flying across the room, knocking down their trainers.

"Quilladin," Robert shouted. "Pin Missile!"

Quilladin rolled to his feet, firing several green missiles, blasting several grunts backwards. Meanwhile, Alex slipped to one side, dodging a grunt coming after her. In the process, she swung her arm, slamming it into the grunt's jaw and brought him hard onto the ground.

She stood straight, swinging her hair out of her face and brought both hands up, left in front of the right. "This is easier than expected."

"You can't expect much from people in tacky red suits," Robert said, waving his hand dismissively. "I mean, they're at a huge disadvantage right now. It's kinda sad."

All the grunts looked at Robert, each one cracking their knuckles.

"Good job, Robert," Alex sighed. "Now they want to kill you."

"What can I say," Robert held up his hands in a "it can't be helped" position. "It's a gift."

"Ninetales!" Alex shouted. "Heat Wave!"

Ninetales blew up a wall of heat and flames between Robert and the advancing grunts, causing them to switch targets to Alex. Two Houndooms bounded towards her, but were intercepted by Floette and Braixen. Vespiquen was busy handling several Scraggys and Mightyenas while Ninetales and Quilladin took care of any outliers, including the grunts themselves. Snorlax had plopped himself in front of a side door, blocking any attempts for more grunts to make their way into the room.

Several grunts however were making their way towards Alex, who simply grinned. She ran forwards, jabbing one in the stomach, causing him to gasp in pain as she spun around and slammed her leg into another's side, bringing her down. She leaped back as the third grunt rushed at her, punches flying. Alex ran forwards, jumping and slamming her foot into his chest, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Dang, Alex," Robert whistled. "Where'd you learn to fight like that."

She shrugged. "I took lessons back in Hoenn. They're not flashy like Zeno's moves are, nor improvisational."

Ninetales sent a blast of Extrasensory at the last standing grunt, sending him crashing into a wall, cracking a TV screen. The lobby of the Power Plant was in disarray, the floor and walls cracked and grunts and their Pokemon laying about.

"Let's get going," Alex said, returning an exhausted Floette and Braixen. "We need to go further into the building so-!"

A loud crash and Snorlax was pushed away from the doorway, a Rhyperior standing there, several grunts behind him.

"Quilladin," Robert said, but never got the chance to say a command as something slammed into the Rock type. It crashed into the wall, cracking it. Flying backwards and landing next to his trainer, Scizor and Clara looked smug.

"Looks like I have to save you both," she shrugged. "Pity. Scizor, Bullet Punch!"

Scizor zoomed towards Rhyperior, taking down three grunts as he passed them, and began pummeling the Rock type. Clara kicked the other grunt's knees inwards from behind and held a switchblade to her throat.

"Now then," Clara leaned in close. "Tell me where your boss is."

"Hey," Alex was pissed. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"Getting information," Clara didn't even look up, only pressing the blade further. "Tell me or you're dead."

"Fine fine!" the female grunt cried desperately. "I'll tell you! They're down that door and to the left. Look for the door with the Do Not Enter sign on it!"

"Thanks," Clara pushed the grunt away from her, where Scizor slammed her on the head, knocking her out.

Clara put the blade away as she walked towards the door the grunt pointed out. "Don't worry you two, I wasn't going to kill her. I only needed her to be afraid."

"Get back here!" Alex yelled at her, but she and Scizor had already left.

"Come on," Alex ran with her Ninetales and Vespiquen. "I don't trust her."

"Ugh," Robert ran after her after returning Snorlax. "This just got more complicated."

...

"Finally," the scientist spoke softly as she entered the large humid room, staring at the huge creature hooked up to the room with huge cables. "We've found you. An endless resource of energy."

The admin produced an Ultra Ball. "Let's hurry up and catch it so we can get out of here. If we can avoid Team Radiance all together the better."

Alarms began wailing and a grunt cried in pain as he was launched forwards. Both the scientist and admin turned to see a goth girl alongside a Scizor, a grin on her face.

"Finally," she stood straight. "The bosses of Team Flare. Now, prepare to fall!"

...

"That takes care of that," Kamake said, her Weavile having taken down the last Mightyena.

I narrowed my eyes at her as she strode across the room towards a doorway. I didn't trust her at all, and whatever she was planning to do here, I would have to stop it, as well as stop Team Flare. I ran after her, Enzo and the rest of Radiance behind me. Arcanine kept pace with me, so I felt better knowing being stabbed in the back would be hard for the opposite party.

Kamake kicked open a door and proceeded down the stairs. We came into a hallway, the one I recognized from the video feed. Down it, I could see a doorway, and beyond that, a large room. The sounds of battle could be heard and I could see several Pokemon going at it.

I pushed past Kamake with Arcanine and together we rushed towards the door. However, someone stumbled through before we could reach it. A bald man in a white suit, the Flare symbol on his belt. He wore red shades and had gold earrings on his left ear.

"Not more of you," he growled. "And Team Radiance. You're not welcomed here."

"Arcanine," I held out my hand. "We'll barrel right past him if we have too."

"Just try it," he threw out a Charizard. "I was sent here so none of you could get past! Now, Mega Evolve!"

A bright blinding light and his Charizard had changed forms. She now looked more feminine and dragon-like, still retaining her orange color. Her wings were more ragged looking and spikes lined her tail. The hallway became hotter as a fierce hot wind blew from the Mega Charizard.

...

_Earlier_

"Scizor, Night Slash!"

Scizor flung a dark wind, blowing back a Scrafty. Clara's boots make clunking sounds on the metal grated floor. The room itself was triangular in shape, with walkways leading around the room, cables beneath the walkways. In the center of the room, hooked up to the cables was a huge red Pokemon. Its body was shaped somewhat like a mountain, a pointy head, and four large feet. Two appendages were linked together over its body, hooked up to the cables, some steam being released. It seemed to be in great pain as it groaned.

"Get away from it!" Alex yelled, her Ninetales blasting a jet of fire at the Team Flare Scientist, whose Houndoom blocked the attack. The scientist was busy tapping away at a screen, trying to release the huge behemoth.

"Mightyena," the bald dude shouted. "Dark Pulse!"

"Take it!" Clara roared.

Scizor held up his arms, defending against the attack. Then he launched forwards, fist raised.

Robert meanwhile was trying to hack into the machinery on a different computer, Alex both defending him and trying to stop the scientist at the same time. Five grunts and their Pokemon were currently trying to stop Robert, so Alex was having a hard time trying to stop them.

Clara scowled, sending out her Barbaracle. "Go help them. Scizor, Fury Attack!"

Barbaracle lumbered forwards, swinging a Razor Shell, slamming a Scrafty aside. He surged forwards with water enveloped around him, colliding with a Swalot. Several more grunts sent our their Pokemon while more ran towards where Clara and the admin were battling.

A bright light and a Mega Houndoom blasted Alex's Ninetales into the wall.

"Secure the hallway!" the scientist yelled at the admin.

"Take her down," he ordered his grunts and managed to make his way to the hallways, Clara and her Scizor occupied by the grunts.

...

Arcanine and Charizard went rolling into the large room as I kicked the bald guy after them. My sides hurt and arms ached. I've fought so much today, longer than I normally would have, that I was actually beginning to tire.

In the center of the huge room was that huge Pokemon, steam resting over its body. Several computer stations were situated around it, two of which were being hacked, one by a Team Flare Scientist and one by Robert. Alex, her Absol, and Clara's Barbaracle were busy protecting him from half a dozen grunts, unable to stop the scientist from her hacking. What I assumed was a Mega Houndoom was the main reason why Alex couldn't get to stopping her.

"We can handle this," Kamake strode past me, her Weavile darting forwards to help Clara and Scizor. Enzo grinned coldly, which should've been my first clue, and let out his Cofagrigus. I felt a painful punch in my side, bringing me to one knee. An arm locked around my neck as several Radiance grunts made sure I was held tightly and unable to move.

I watched as Cofagrigus sent Arcanine tumbling away from Charizard, the Bald admin now confused.

"What is going on!?" he demanded.

"Simple," Kamake said, standing in front of him as Charizard and Cofagrigus stood between me and Arcanine. "We're both after the same thing here. But, what if we could offer you something in return for the Volcanion."

She leaned in close and whispered into his ear. He appeared to be shocked, then recovered himself. "Where's the proof?"

Kamake held up her tablet and whatever was on it convinced him. "Alright. You got yourself a deal."

Weavile was sent flying backwards, Scizor looking near exhausted at this point. Clara meanwhile looked extremely pissed.

"That's enough," she growled. "I've had enough of all of you!"

She let out her Chandelure and Heliolisk. "Overheat and Parabolic Charge!"

"Charizard!" the Flare admin barked and he and Cofagrigus intercepted the attacks. The Ghost type appeared next to Chandelure, blasting her with a Shadow Ball while Charizard slammed a fist into the ground, a wave of dirt colliding with Heliolisk.

"I'm glad we've come to an agreement," Kamake said, turning her gaze over to where Alex and Robert were. "Now to deal with them."

I tried to shake off the grunts, but they held me in a very tight hold. Enzo leaned down to look at me. "Pathetic. I expected better of you, so-called Hero Born of Darkness. To think you were the one who brought the downfall of Cassandra."

He sneered at me and stood. Arcanine was standing about 20 feet away, unable to do anything for fear of me receiving the consequences.

"Let's deal with him now," Enzo said, releasing a Pokemon I had never seen before. It looked similar to Cofagrigus, but had a earthen body.

"Runerigus," Enzo said. "Use Earthquake."

As the unfamiliar Pokemon went to attack, I felt a vague heat behind me, warming my neck. Something flew over our heads, smashing its foot into the back of Runerigus, slamming it to the walkway, making a loud clanging sound.

I felt the grunts' hold loosen slightly. I managed to wiggle Mawile's pokeball and released her. Assessing the situation, she leaped, smacking her jaw into the grunt holding my neck. He released his grip as he yelped in pain and two other groans followed. I heaved one grunt over my shoulder, Enzo turning to see I had escaped. Then he took a step backwards as he looked behind me. I stood to see three people entering the room. The two on either side wearing white coats rushed past us over to Alex and Robert. The girl with dark purple hair wore a red mask and scarf while the guy with blonde hair wore a blue mask and scarf.

"Now then, Team Flare," the last person stepped forwards. "And Team Radiance. You're evil ends here."

He wore a black, red, and gray bodysuit, a red cape clipped to his chest. On his head he wore a Blaziken mask, the features made to look intimidating.

"A Kalosian superhero," Enzo sneered. "How terribly pathetic. You can do nothing to stop us, Blaziken Mask."

Runerigus was slammed into a wall by a Blaziken, flames coming off his wrists. His features were sharper than a regular Blaziken, his body a color scheme of white, black, and red.

"That may be true," Blaziken Mask nodded. "But that's why it's not just me here."

"Hey, Enzo, Flare admin," I said, Arcanine by my side now. "Let me show you both why Team Radiance feared me back in Alola and why Team Flare should fear me as well. Extreme Speed!"

Arcanine slammed into Charizard, sending the two rolling again.

"Blaze Kick!" Blaziken Mask yelled.

Blaziken leaped and spun, slamming his blazing foot against Cofagrigus and then slamming his other foot into Runerigus.

"Come out and help," I let out Lucario. "Bone Rush!"

The Fighting type launched himself at Cofagrigus, slamming two bones against then Ghost type.

A loud hissing noise came from the center of the room and steam filled the whole area. I heard the sound of a pokeball capturing a Pokemon and I turned to see that the Volcanion had disappeared, a figure outlined in the mist.

"Kamake," my eyes narrowed as I let out Frogadier. "Let's go!"

I ran across the main walkway, Frogadier running ahead of me. "Water Pulse!"

Weavile appeared in front of her master, slicing the water apart.

"We all got we came for," Kamake said as I came to a halt with Frogadier by my side. "This time, you lose."

An explosion rang from above, parts of the ceiling collapsing. Sunlight streamed in from far above, ropes dangling down through the large hole.

The Team Flare scientist came to stand next to Kamake. "We have what we need from you. In return, we'll provide you help escaping."

"Much appreciated," Kamake turned towards me as she grabbed a rope near her. "I would remind you Zeno, our plan will not endanger Kalos nor the world. There is no need to come after us again."

"Fat chance," I growled. "Frogadier, cut the ropes!"

He leaped, but Weavile knocked him back into me, causing us to fall to the ground. I groaned and was getting ready to get to my feet, but Team Flare and Team Radiance were already escaping, all being pulled up to the surface. The last thing I saw was a cold glare from Enzo, then they were gone.

I cursed, slamming my fist against the metal walkway. Sighing, I stood and looked to see Alex and Robert making their way toward me.

"You guys okay?" I asked, looking at Alex.

They both nodded and the three new arrivals followed from behind.

"Who're you three?" I asked.

Blaziken Mask held out his hand. "Blaziken Mask, a protector of Kalos."

"Didn't realize there were superheroes outside of Unova," Robert shook his hand.

"Superheroes?" Alex just shook her head. "Now I've seen everything."

"And we're the Masked Heroes," the boy and girl said, shaking our hands, the girl saying, "We were given intel by the Champion to come and assist you all. She had a feeling things might not go according to your plan."

"Plan?" I gave a chuckle. "I don't think we ever have a plan. But thanks for the assist. Probably could've been a lot worse if you three hadn't showed up."

"Now that I think about it," Alex said. "Wasn't Ash and the rest supposed to be here as well? We never did see them."

"Ah, yes," Blaziken Mask nodded. "Diantha contacted them and had them head straight to Lumiose with haste. That's also why she had us sent here. They're all busy over there, so she's unable to contact you three."

"What's happening?" I asked.

"The Cult," he said, turning and swiftly walking towards the exit, all of us following. "Every nearby trainer was called into action. She left you three out of the loop so this matter could be taken care of."

"Wait," Alex said. "I didn't think Diantha would let anymore trainers just straight up fight the Cultists."

"She's not," the Blue Masked Hero responded. "They're all there to stop the Chaos they're spreading. As we speak, confused Pokemon are rampaging in the middle of the city. The trainers are there to protect the citizens and take down the Pokemon. Diantha is dealing with the Cultists herself."

"This just keeps getting better and better," Robert groaned as we all ran up the stairs. "How are we getting to Lumiose to help?"

"We have a Helicopter," Blaziken Mask said. "We have to hurry. They're going to need all the help they can get."

I heard Clara behind us, staying quiet, but the sound of her boots told me she was there. Whether she liked it or not, she was coming to help.

...

High above the skies of Lumiose, circling the grand city were three huge Pokemon. Their eyes reflected that of madness. Absolute chaos. They all screeched in unison as they dived towards the city.

**Man, this action just cannot stop. No rest for our heroes eh? Well, this appears to be a victory for both Team Flare and Team Radiance. Now the the Cult of Chaos is wrecking havoc in Lumiose. The next chapter likely won't come out until next week or the week after. I still have TMR 2 to write after all. I hope you all enjoyed this longer chapter. Toodles**


	35. Chapter 34: A Trio in Chaos

"Seems like they've managed to contain everything in the center of Lumiose still!" Blaziken Mask shouted over the drum of the helicopter blades as he piloted us over Lumiose.

Below us we could see Lumiose Tower with tiny trainers scattered around its perimeter. The streets looked damaged as Pokemon still rampaged, the trainers running around with their own Pokemon, trying to contain them.

"Where's Diantha!?" Alex shouted, hand on her headpiece as she surveyed the city.

"Last we heard she was on North Boulevard!" the male Masked Hero responded, pointing at a part of the city. "She had all citizens evacuated, though they're are still some left, but they're being protected by trainers. She managed to trap the Cultists in North Boulevard so no one else can fight them but her."

I looked at my friends and they both nodded. I leaned forwards. "Set us down near there then! We'll help Diantha!"

"No can do!" Blaziken Mask shouted. "She had strict orders not to let anyone help her! She doesn't want to risk anyone's lives! We'll be sitting down on the Pokemon Lab's roof over in South Boulevard! Your job is to help protect it!"

"Fine!" Clara shouted. "Just get us off this damn thing already so we can help!"

I flinched. She had been so quiet this whole trip I had almost forgotten she was here. Apparently Blaziken Mask had the same reaction as the helicopter swerved slightly. A loud cry outside the window made me realize that wasn't the case at all. A shadow fell over the windows and something huge flew by the aircraft. A giant bird with flames rolling off of it.

"No way!" my eyes went wide. "That's Moltres!"

"Articuno is over here!" Alex shouted by the other window.

"Zapdos in the front!" Robert pointed out the main windows.

All three legendary birds of Kanto were here, flying in the skies over Lumiose City. Suddenly Moltres belched a jet of flames down at the city, scattering Trainers and Pokemon alike.

"Looks like they're not on our side!" Blaziken Mask swerved the helicopter around to avoid colliding with Zapdos, who turned towards us, eyes a sickly purple color.

"Chaos," I muttered, then louder. "The Cult of Chaos has them under their control!"

Blaziken Mask didn't respond, only maneuvered the helicopter towards Sycamore's Pokemon Lab. He set us down on it and once we were able to, Alex, Robert, Clara, and I jumped out, shaky from the ride. I looked up into the sky to see Articuno dive-bombing Lumiose Tower, only to get repelled by blasts of different elements from the trainers below.

Suddenly the building we stood upon shook slightly as a loud crash came from the street below. We ran to look to see a Diggersby, Crawdaunt, and two Pyroars attacking the front of the lab.

"Handle the landing!" Clara shouted, throwing out Scizor as she leaped off the roof. Scizor caught her and they landed on the street.

"No easy way for us," I ran towards the door on the roof. "C'mon!"

We burst into the Lab, running down some stairs and past scientists scurrying around, trying to move boxes or care for injured Pokemon. Some Pokemon already under the control of Chaos were being kept in special cages. When we got to the main lobby, Sycamore was there along with his Garchomp. He and Clara had almost fully driven back the invading Pokemon.

"Lucario!" I shouted, tossing him out. "Power-Up Punch!"

He leaped past Garchomp, slamming his fist into Diggersby's stomach, sending him flying backwards. He shook himself and got right back up.

"It seems like they're not taking the damage they should be taking," Sycamore said as we got closer. "Whatever the Cult's done to them it made them stronger. Garchomp, when he was controlled before was snapped out of it fairly easily by Ash. Seems like they enhanced whatever they injected them with."

"But we can still beat them senseless!" Clara shouted as Scizor pummeled one of the Pyroars into fainting. "Parabolic Charge!"

Her Heliolisk blasted away the Crawdaunt, but he wasn't done in yet.

"Vespiquen!" Alex shouted, bringing out her Bug type. "Attack Order!"

Vespiquen's eyes glowed red as hundreds of tiny green pellets struck the Water and Dark type, causing him to faint.

"High Horsepower!"

Robert's Snorlax kicked Pyroar out of the lab and bounced across the street. Meanwhile, Lucario finished off Diggersby by slamming him to the ground. The purple color in his eyes faded away.

"So we only have to make them faint to free them," I said as Lucario returned to me. "Easier said than done. How many are loose in the city?"

"Too many," Sycamore sighed as he cared for his Garchomp who looked worn out. "We've been fighting for an two hours at least. The Cult only just showed up not long ago."

"How many?" I asked, looking at the broken streets and the battling trainers and Pokemon.

"A lot," the Professor said. "Maybe too many for Diantha to actually handle."

"We should help then," Alex said, determined.

"The heroes already left," Clara pointed at the helicopter flying away in the sky. "On their way to Diantha probably."

"They don't want us involved," I shook my head. "But I can't just let them fight the Cult alone."

"Me neither," Alex nodded at my resolve.

Sycamore laughed. "You young trainers. I know all too well trying to stop you is futile."

His expression turned grim. "Go. You'll be much for useful out there. Garchomp and I can handle things here. Plus, just because we're all scientists here, doesn't mean we aren't veteran trainers."

"All the same," Robert looked at us. "I'll be staying here to help. Snorlax seems to be more awake than usual. He'll be a great help here."

"Stay safe, Robert," I nodded at him. "Try and spare them of your jokes."

"Who else will keep their spirits up?" he grinned and gave a thumbs-up. "Now get going. Stop that Cult."

Alex and I nodded and we ran onto the street. The road ahead of us, Vernal Avenue, was blocked by battles.

"We'll have to take the long way," I said.

"You two have fun," Clara said, in the arms of her Scizor. "We'll be taking the lead."

Scizor ran and leapt into the air, his feet digging into the side of a building as he climbed his way up on only his two feet.

"Clara!" I shouted. "Don't be reckless! We should stick together!"

No reply as Scizor landed on the building roof and ran out of sight.

"No use," Alex tugged on my arm and we began to run East. "She'll just have to take care of herself, that fool."

I didn't argue, mostly because there was point. Once the next road came up, we ran down it and headed towards Vert Plaza. The stone monument that stood in the center of the plaza was broken as a Gogoat was thrown backwards by a Pangoro.

"More trainers!" a guy yelled, he and several other trainers fighting off several Pangoros with their Gogoat, Doublade, Shelgon, and Pelipper.

"Lucario," I said and he ran ahead of me. "Power-Up Punch!"

He slammed his fist into the Pangoro who tossed the Gogoat, sending him crashing against another Pangoro. He then flipped into the air, bringing both fists down on the third Pokemon's head. He jumped back as the last two Pangoro lumbered forwards, swinging their massive fists.

"Water Pulse!

"Dragon Breath!"

"Sacred Sword!"

All three attacks collided with a Pangoro, bringing him to one knee.

"Air Slash!" Alex cried.

Vespiquen's attack sliced through the air, fainting the Pangoro. However, two of the fallen Pangoro got back up, making the total we still had to beat three.

"Iron Tail!"

Something small and yellow came twirling out of nowhere, slamming his Iron Tail into a Pangoro's head. The Fighting and Dark type collapsed to the ground as the Pikachu jumped away to avoid getting hurt.

Ash and Serena and her Braixen ran into the plaza.

"Braixen!" Serena shouted. "Flamethrower!"

Braixen swung her branch, a jet of flames engulfing the last two Pangoro.

"Bone Rush!"

Lucario jumped and formed a long bone, holding it with both paws. He spun and brought one end against the closest Pangoro's head. He leaped again, slamming the bone into the other Pangoro.

"Finish them with Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pikachuuuuuuuu!"

The two Pangoros collapsed from the Electric attack, both defeated.

"Good save there, Ash and Serena," Alex shouted, waving at them.

"Hey!" they shouted, running up as the other trainers present yelled their thanks and hurried off towards Lumiose Tower.

"Sorry we had to bail on the Power Plant mission," Serena apologized, bowing her head. "But we were told to come help here."

"No worries," I said. "We took care of that just fine. Where's Clemont and Bonnie."

"At the tower," Ash looked back where the battles were more heated. "We saw trouble over here and ran to help. Your help would actually be appreciated."

Alex and I looked at each other. "We'd love to, but we have-!"

A loud cry filled the city as the three legendary birds fired all three attacks near the tower, blasting Pokemon away.

"Not again!" Ash shouted, running back towards the tower. "Pikachu, try and hit one with Thunderbolt!"

"Please help!" Serena asked desperately as she ran after Ash.

"Zeno?" Alex questioned.

"Yeah, I know," I said, running after them. "Let's finish this quick!"

"That's more like it!" Alex grinned as she caught up to me. "Vespiquen, go help out the other trainers! You'll be at a disadvantage against those legendaries!"

Vespiquen buzzed and flew off to our left where trainers were fighting a horde of Grass types.

"Lucario," I skidded to a halt. "Get Articuno's attention next time it flies by!"

Lucario growled and vaulted his bone into the sky. It collided into the Ice and Flying type, but did no damage since it was a Ground type move. The Legendary Bird squawked in rage and dived towards us.

Alex and I both let out our signature Pokemon in unison. "Flamethrower!"

Arcanine and Ninetales both reared back their heads and blasted twin jets of flames, engulfing the Ice type. It screeched in pain as it crashed to the ground. It stood on shaky legs, not as hurt as I would have liked.

"Articuno is a legend," I grimaced. "That's hard enough to beat. But with the added effects of Chaos? We're in for trouble, aren't we?"

"Oh come on," Alex grinned. "We've faced down Ultra Beasts and even the Mother Beast herself. This will be a piece of cake."

She swung her backpack around and fished out her Z-ring, clasping it onto her wrist. "Leave Articuno to me, Zeno. You go after the other birds."

"Alright," I nodded. "I trust you."

"You'd better," Alex smiled. A fiery aura engulfed her as she attached her Firium Z. "Ninetales and I won't lose."

Awed by her beauty and determination, I had to wrench myself away and Arcanine and Lucario followed me. I felt an icy chill spread through the area as I heard Articuno flap its wings, getting back up into the air. A sudden warmth vanished the cold and a red-orangeish glow surrounded the area.

"Let's go!" I heard Alex roar. "INFERNO OVERDRIVE!"

A loud explosion erupted behind me and I smiled. I had a feeling Articuno still wouldn't be defeated that easily, but I knew Alex well enough that she would for sure take it down.

I saw Zapdos flying in our direction, heading towards where Alex was battling.

"Oh no you don't!" I shouted. "You let her be! Arcanine, Dragon Pulse!"

He fired draconic energy at the Electric and Flying type, knocking him off course. He zeroed in on us and his body began crackling.

"Bring it!" I yelled. "Arcanine, blast Zapdos with a Flamethrower!"

Zapdos flew to the side, avoiding the attack, firing a bolt of electricity towards us.

"Flamethrower!" I shouted.

Arcanine's fire met the Electric attack, an explosion occurring in the air, the shock wave rippling against us.

"Smack Down!"

Ash's Frogadier leaped off the side of Lumiose Tower, tossing a big rock into the air above Zapdos. It fell onto Zapdos, bringing him to the ground.

"Now's your chance!" Ash shouted from where he and Serena were battling Moltres.

"Thanks!" I shouted. "Arcanine, keep Zapdos from flying away with Extreme Speed! Lucario, Bone Rush! You know what to do!"

Arcanine rocketed forwards, slamming into Zapdos, causing him to lose his balance on his chicken feet. Lucario leaped into the air, throwing two bones. Both collided with the Legendary, dealing damage thanks to Ash nullifying the Flying advantage.

"Alright," I raised my left wrist, pressing two fingers against the Keystone. Light connected Lucario and I as I spoke, "Let our trust never wane as we fight these chaotic battles and let our fighting spirit never diminish! Let's show them the power of our bond!"

Aura winds enveloped us both, lifting my hair slightly. "Lucario, Mega Evolve!"

Lucario howled as he leaped into the air once more, his body transforming. He drew back his fist, an iron coating glossing over it as aura gathered around him. He dove, slamming his shining fist into Zapdos' back. The Legendary cried out in pain, but was silenced as Arcanine blasted him with a wave of heat. Lucario had jumped back before Arcanine's attack, skidding along the road. His head appendages floated wildly as I felt his aura increase. He ran forwards, keeping low to the ground as a bone formed in each hand. They dragged along the road, creating grooves, before Lucario ripped them up hard, flinging pieces of the road into the air. He leaped and blasted his aura forwards, sending the bits of road forwards as projectiles. They slammed into Zapdos, injuring his wings.

"Now!" I shouted. "Finish with Bone Rush!"

Lucario howled and twisted mid-air, slamming both bones into Zapdos' back, causing the Legendary Bird to faint, his violet gaze flickering away.

"Hrgh!" I clutched my heart. I looked up to see Lucario's eyes had grown smaller, drool dripping from his maw. His wild gaze turned sharply towards the battle between Moltres, Ash, Serena, and the other trainers.

"Lucario!" I shouted, reaching out with my hand. "Arcanine, stop him!"

Lucario, whenever he went out of control, I had no idea if he could identify friend from foe. Still gripping my shirt, I stood as Arcanine ran to catch up with my out-of-control Pokemon.

"Ash!" I shouted over the sounds of battle. "Watch out!"

The ground shook and I turned to see a Haxorus heading my way, eyes glowing purple.

"Night Slash!"

Absol leaped past the Dragon type, a fierce dark wind causing it to roar in pain.

"Need a hand?" Alex asked as she ran over.

"Gladly," I nodded and let out Mawile. "Play Rough!"

She lunged forwards, tackling the Dragon type to the ground. He shook her off and smacked her away with his tail, but Absol was there, claws surrounded by dark energy as she forced Haxorus backwards.

Another sharp pain and I looked back to see Lucario engaged with Moltres.

"Handle this!" I shouted to Alex as I began running.

A blast of fire and Lucario went flying, skidding along the road.

"Return!" I shouted, holding out my pokeball, the red light capturing him. "Now, come out Frogadier! Water Pulse!"

Frogadier bounced into the air, throwing a sphere of water at Moltres, angering him. The last Legendary bird still fighting was weakening, so all we had to do was wrap things up.

"Arcanine," I looked at him. "Distract him with Dragon Pulse!"

Arcanine began running, blasting the energy beam at Moltres, dragging his attention away from us.

"Now!" Ash shouted as I caught up with him and all the other fighting trainers. "Concentrate your attacks! Bubble Beam and Thunder!"

"Water Pulse!" I shouted.

Attacks were shouted all around us, beams of energy and elemental attacks firing upwards. They all collided with Moltres, an explsosion rocketing the sky. Smoke obscured the Fire bird, but he soon fell into view and crashed to the road, fainted.

"Finally," Ash wiped the sweat from his brow. "That should make things go a lot smoother."

As I looked around, the battles that were going on were finishing up, Alex, Absol, and Mawile already on their way over. Returning both Frogadier and Mawile, I called Arcanine over.

"We have to go," I said apologetically to Ash. "Take care of things here."

He nodded. "Can do. Stay strong you two."

I climbed onto Arcanine's back and helped Alex up after she returned Absol.

"Let's go," I told Arcanine as Alex folded her arms around my waist. "North!"

Arcanine ran fast through the streets and finding where the Cult was wasn't hard once we began hearing the sounds of battle.

"Turn left!" I shouted necessarily as Arcanine turned the corner.

There on North Boulevard I saw Diantha, Blaziken Mask, the two Masked Heroes, and Clara trying to fend off the cultists, who were aided by dozens of Chandelures and several Dusknoirs. Our allies and their Pokemon were reaching their limits, even Diantha and Blaziken Mask, despite both having Megas. The cultists were many, but they were protecting five other cultists holding purple orbs. All of them were glowing, as if they were absorbing energy.

_"No way,"_ my thoughts flashed back to the battle at the Tower of Mastery. _"They're drawing on the chaotic energy here!"_

"Heat Wave!" I shouted aloud, Alex and I leaping off of Arcanine. He slammed both paws forwards, a wave of heat crashing into cultists and enemy Pokemon alike.

"Finally decided to show up, huh!" Clara shouted at us angrily.

Diantha looked tired, but she managed a stern face. "I didn't want any of you to take part in this."

"We have to," I said, standing alongside Alex. "Besides, you guys need the help."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Alex and I turned to look at the cultist leading the others, his hood back to reveal a wide-grinning man. Dreadlocks hung down his dark face, his eyes mad with chaos.

"You've come to help!" he roared with laughter. "The might of the All-Powerful One cannot be beaten! The chaos shall engulf you all! All will fall under her might!"

"And you!" he pointed a gnarled finger at me. "Hero Born of Darkness! You may believe you can stop us, but you cannot! You're no longer important to our plans after all! We have found an even better sacrificial pawn! So you can fall right here! Die so you may no longer be a pest! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He cackled with laughter as his Mega Banette held out her hands, shadows spilling forth towards me.

I glared at him and his Banette. "Another sacrificial pawn!? You think I'm going to let myself fall here when I hear that!? Think again!"

Lightning struck the ground near me, blasting a crater in the road. Zeraora rose, eyes and fists sparking with blue electricity. I swore I heard Eve's voice in the wind for just a second.

"Let us help you as a repayment for what happened at the Power Plant."

Zeraora nodded at me and crouched, ready to fight alongside us.

"Fine," I growled. "But don't think that this means I'll leave you and Team Radiance alone, Eve. Arcanine, Heat Wave!"

As Arcanine blasted the shadows away, causing Banette to leap into the air, Zeraora disappeared. He reappeared above the Mega Pokemon, slamming her back to the ground with an electrified fist. He then leaped towards the incoming Chandelures, a dome of electricity blasting them back.

Banette, still standing, leaped at Arcanine, claws gleaming.

"Moonblast!"

The Fairy move blasted the Ghost type backwards, Diantha's weakened Gardevoir having fired the move.

"Thanks!" I shouted to the pair of them.

Diantha nodded, looking relieved. "Finish this."

Nodding, I removed my Mega Ring. I attached my Z-ring on my wrist instead, clasping what I dubbed the Arcanium-Z onto it. A fiery connection was forged between me and Arcanine as a fiery bow appeared in my left hand. Raising it, I drew back an arrow.

"TAKE THEM ALL OUT!" I roared. "INCINERAZING ARROW!"

I let go and the arrow collided with Arcanine, a blazing fire erupting around him. He howled and the flames shaped themselves into an arrow. The cultists began scrambling backwards as the heat rippled through the air, blowing my hair back as I stood my ground. Zeraora kicked the Banette away and leaped into the sky as Arcanine blasted forwards, zigzagging into opponents, leaving a fiery blaze in his wake. In a matter of seconds, nearly every enemy Pokemon was wiped out.

Several Chandelures still hovered, but Zeraora, still in the air, yowled. Thunder boomed as dark clouds gathered. Several bolts of lightning struck each remaining Pokemon, fainting them.

As Arcanine's fire began to dissipate, I saw the cultists still standing running, the ones with the five orbs in the lead. Zeraora blinked and shot into the sky, becoming a blue bolt of lightning as he and the dark clouds disappeared.

"I've just sent word," Diantha said, coming over. "The police will be after the Cult. They won't get away."

"Hopefully," I said, my legs a little shaky. Arcanine rushed over so I could lean on him. Alex squeezed my hand and I smiled at her thankfully.

"I didn't want you three here," Diantha looked at Clara and us. "But, thank you. This was a victory because you all decided to show up."

She turned and stumbled, falling to her knees.

"Diantha," I said, worried.

"I'm fine," she tried to assure us, but her face was pale. "I'll be-"

As she tried to stand, her knees buckled as she fell forwards. Her Gardevoir was there, catching her trainer.

"Diantha!" Alex and I shouted.

The Champion of Kalos did not stir as several dark shadows slinked across her body.

**Another long chapter full of chaos. Hope you all enjoyed this. We're also nearly at the halfway point in this story. I have a couple, ahem, interesting chapters to do before that though, which I think you all will enjoy. Now that the Cult has had an apparent victory and the Champion brought down, what will our heroes do next you ask? Have a gym battle of course. Till next time. Toodles**


	36. Chapter 35: Downtime

"So," I stared through the window at Diantha on a hospital bed, connected to a machines and an IV bag. "Any updates?"

Diantha's doctor nodded. "Diantha's in stable condition. Whatever the Cult managed to do to her, it isn't showing any signs of being damaging, aside from just weakening her. We're currently working on finding different ways to approach treating her, but none seem to be effective. We'll only be able to monitor her situation until she wakes up I'm afraid."

I nodded. "Alright, thanks."

As I made my way out of the hospital, I contacted Alex through our Holo Casters. "Just checked on Diantha. Nothing new since you came yesterday."

She nodded, the hologram of her flickering slightly. "Hopefully she'll get better. Oh, Sycamore requested you. He wants to see how Frogadier is doing."

"I'll be right there," I promised, shutting off the device and nearly ran into someone.

"Oh," I backed up. "Sor-"

The word got lost on its way out as I stared at the red-maned man towering over me. He still wore his suit, the red outlines on his black leather suit doing nothing but confirm my knowledge of him being the leader of Team Flare.

"Lysandre," I said, managing to control the tone of my voice. I had to hope he didn't know that we knew of his status. "Why are you here?"

"Ah," he looked at me. "Zeno, was it? I am only here to give my regards to Diantha."

He lifted his hand to show the white roses in his grasp. "These were always her favorite. It's appalling that the Cult decided to target her. Do not worry, child. I am providing enough funds and resources for her care as well as for helping the police find the Cult. This is what is important right now, don't you agree?"

He walked off towards Diantha's room, his purposeful stride almost mockingly in a way.

"Yeah," I said. "Important."

...

"You wanted me, Professor?" I asked, knocking on his office door.

He looked up from his paperwork. "Ah, yes, thank you for coming."

He stood and shook my hand. "Let me thank you again for helping out. As well as every trainer there. Without even one of you, I don't know if we would have had this successful of an outcome. Things could've been worse."

He looked back at the paperwork on his desk. "I'm been doing a lot, as well as some stuff that Diantha was supposed to do."

"Don't overwork yourself too much," I smiled. "But I do see rebuilding is coming along nicely."

"Yes," Sycamore smiled, going over to the window to look out at the streets of Lumiose. "So many people are still chipping in. Simply _magnifique_."

"You've been working hard this whole week as well," Sycamore said, turning back to me. "You and your friends. I've sent them off for a break, so do go join them."

"If you insist," I nodded and turned to leave, then, "Didn't you want to see Frogadier?"

"Goodness me," he ruffled his hair, grinning sheepishly. "I guess I forgot. Yes, that would be great. You've had him for over a month now. I want to check his health and determine if anything has changed."

After handing him Frogadier's pokeball, I bid the professor farewell and headed out of the Pokemon Lab. Checking my Holo Caster, I headed over to Cafe Cyclone over in Vert Plaza. As I entered the circular plaza, I took note that they had put in another stone monument in the center. The nearby buildings were still being repaired, but it seemed like the workers and Pokemon were all on break, relaxing on the grass outlining the plaza and having lunch.

With a jingle, I opened the door to the cafe. Cool air hit me, refreshing after being out in the hot sun. With it being in the middle of summer, the heat was reaching its peak.

"Zeno," Alex waved from the table she was sitting at, drinking coffee alone. She wore a white shirt instead of her beige one today, dried paint splatters of blue and green on it.

I sat across from her, and when a waiter hurried over, I ordered a coffee as well. "So, where's Robert."

She chuckled. "He wanted to get a head start on doing a job for the Professors. Juniper recommended Robert could help in analyzing the Pokemon that were infected, so Sycamore told him he could do it later. Robert was here literally for a minute, drank his tea, and set out."

"Sounds just like him," I laughed.

There was a minute of awkward silence, only interrupted when my drink arrived. After taking a sip, I decided to say something. "So, what did you do today?"

I nearly cringed at the such basic question, but Alex smiled. "I was running some errands for Sycamore this morning, then I was helping them repaint parts of the lab."

"That explains the shirt," I nodded.

"Yep," Alex said. "So, aside from checking up on Diantha, you do anything else?"

"I met Ash and Serena on my way over to the hospital," I thought back to when we had talked near a different cafe. "He wanted to challenge me to another battle later."

Alex placed both hands on her cup. "They make a cute couple, don't they?"

"Huh," I started. "Ash and Serena? Yeah, I guess so. I guess Serena knew Ash back in Kanto before. Though I don't think they're dating yet."

Alex pursed her lips. "Zeno, back in Alola, when you... you know. I couldn't stop thinking about you. I was devastated. And when you came back, I was so happy, I guess..."

She sighed. "Maybe we rushed things."

"So," I set down my coffee. "You're officially dumping me then?"

She let out a small laugh. "I guess that's one way to put it."

"Well," she stared into the dark liquid in her cup. "I guess what I'm saying is that we should just be friends. Take things slower. Maybe then..."

She looked up at me. "You're not mad, are you?"

"No," I shook my head, smiling. "Honestly, I think I've been feeling the same way. Lately, it feels like we hardly get time to just relax and talk like this. Plus, so many other things to deal with..."

Alex reached over and grasped my hand. "So, friends then?"

"Always," I affirmed. "And Alex, again, I'm sorry for leaving for six months without contact. I was too selfish, believing I could change my father."

"Don't worry," Alex squeezed my hand. "I did the same."

"You never talk about your family," I said. "Why did you leave again?"

She hesitated, then said, "When I got back, I think they had gotten better. They were drinking less and had better behavior. I even got to see some of my old friends again..."

"Alex," I checked to see if anyone was listening, and lowered my voice. "You mentioned they'd killed before, back when we were on Alola. That they tried to kill you, twice."

She shrugged. "It isn't actually as bad as it sounds. I'll admit, some of my actions were part of it."

She looked uncomfortable, so I did what she had done earlier and squeezed her hand. "Alex, I want you to know you can talk to me about this. I trusted you and everyone else about my past, what I've done. I'm here whenever you want to talk, alright?"

She nodded and took another sip of her coffee, making a face at it. "Ugh, it got cold."

"Heh," I tried my coffee. Lukewarm. "Maybe it's time we got back to work."

She waved her hand. "Most of the city's been repaired, thanks to everyone who helped out. Let's go find Robert."

"Where are they keeping all the Pokemon that were infected?" I asked as we both stood and pushed our chairs in. "They aren't at the lab, are they?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Clemont offered up the use of his battling arena in Lumiose Tower."

"Gotcha," I rested my hand on the door, then looked back at her. "Wait, _Clemont's_ battling arena?"

Alex smirked. "Apparently he's the Lumiose Gym Leader. Who would have thought, huh?"

"Yeah," I shook my messy hair. "If the battling arena is full, I guess we can't do our gym battle yet."

"Yeah," Alex confirmed as we stepped out into the summer heat. The workers were already getting off their lunch break, the sound of machines working and the grunts of Machamps in the air.

"Well," I held up my hand to block the sun's rays. "Let's head over to the Lab first. I want to see if Sycamore's done with Frogadier. Then we should head over to the Tower."

"Alright," Alex said as we set off. "So, have you talked to your family lately?"

I nodded. "Ah, right. I didn't tell you. I phoned them yesterday with my Holo Caster. Since they don't have one, I can only use voice, no holograms. It was nice of Sycamore to each give a trainer one that helped out in the battle."

"Anyway," I said. "I've been updating them about what's been going on. Of course they've seen the news, so they already expected that I was involved somehow."

"It is you," Alex pointed out, poking me in the side.

"No," I held up a finger. "It's us. It can't just be me. We're always the ones who get into trouble. I'm not the only one who has the bad luck."

"Fair enough," Alex laughed as we hit the main street on South Boulevard. The city had gotten busier since I had come this way earlier. During the week of major construction, people were only able to get around by walking or on Gogoats, but now taxis were back up and running. I saw an electronic sign advertising a movie that had featured Diantha as the lead role up on top of a building, then it changed to an ad about Holo Casters, with Lysandre holding on.

I stopped. "I can't believe I forgot!"

"What?" Alex asked, stopping as well.

People were walking on either side of us, some in business suits or people just out to enjoy the day in the city. Looking around, I pulled Alex into a nearby alley. I pulled out my Holo Caster and made sure to shut it off all the way.

"Okay, seriously," Alex pulled her hand away once the coolness of the alley had settled in on us. "What?"

I held up a hand to silence her and took off my backpack. Ruffling through it, I pulled out a pen and paper. Tucking the Holo Caster away into my pocket, I pressed the paper up against the alley wall next to us and wrote something.

**"No talking."**

Alex raised an eyebrow at me, then shrugged. I nodded and wrote something else.

Alex mouthed the word silently. **"I'm pretty sure Lysandre's onto us."**

Alex froze, eyes wide, then tugged the pen out of my hand and wrote, **"How do you know?"**

**"Back at the hospital,"** I wrote after taking the pen back. **"I bumped into him and he mentioned how it was terrible that Diantha was targeted. He then said something like how Diantha's care and finding the cult was what we all should be focusing on. It sounded like he telling me to back off from the affairs of others."**

**"But how?" **Alex had grabbed her own pen when I had been writing. **"Could we have been followed? Bugged somehow?"**

**"I have a theory,"** I wrote. **"The Holo Caster. They were made by Lysandre's Lab. What if he can listen to them at all times, turned on or off. Or read anything on them."**

Alex visibly paled, then scribbled, **"How should we handle this then?"**

I flipped the paper over.** "We'll need to talk to Robert and Clemont about this. They might be able to do something about the Holo Casters and see what Lysandre can do with them. If they can't, we'll have to get rid of them. In the meantime, we can't talk about this, at least when there's Holo Casters around or other people."**

Alex nodded and put her pen away. I crumpled the paper up and stuffed it into my bag, telling myself that I would have Arcanine burn it later. We made our way out of the alley and across the street, not too far from the Lab now. We walked in silence, which would be suspicious if Lysandre or Team Flare could listen to us even with the device turned off, but if we tried to talk now, the conversation was bound to be awkward. Luckily we got the excuse to talk again when we ran into Sycamore talking to one of his scientists in the main hall of the building.

"Ah, there you are," Sycamore said once he noticed us and strode over. "The results are in. He seems to be doing good, but I can see signs of his body slowing down. I'm afraid he only has around two weeks at this point."

He handed me back my pokeball, resting his hand on my shoulder, my stomach sinking at the news. "Look, Zeno. He'll be able to fight for a bit longer, but he's not going to get any stronger. I'm sorry, but he's going to pass on."

"I know," I said softly.

Sycamore smiled sadly. "He looked to be very happy when I was doing his check-up. You're doing a fantastic job as a trainer. I'm not sure he would have lived this long without your continued support and you being a friend."

He patted me on the shoulder and left, saying he had more work to do. I looked down at the pokeball in my hand, realizing my hand was shaking slightly.

"Zeno," Alex grasped my other hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I tried to regain my composure and spoke again with more confidence in my voice. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Maybe you should let him out?" Alex suggested.

I shook my head. "He's probably tired after Sycamore's examinations. I'll let him rest for a bit."

I stalked towards the door, Alex staying behind for a second before jogging to catch up. She stayed quiet as we made our way towards Lumiose Tower, leaving me alone with my conflicted thoughts. I knew what Sycamore had said to be true, but that couldn't be it. It just couldn't. Just over a week ago, Frogadier had battled in our gym battle in Coumarine City. He had gotten so much stronger. And during this week rebuilding, whenever I had free time I would have all my Pokemon practice with one another behind a Pokemon Center. He seemed fine, stronger than ever.

I gripped a fist. "This can't be what's going to happen. I'm seeing him get better with every passing battle. When he evolved, he'd gotten so much better. Maybe... maybe if he evolves again he can be cured."

With a rising sense of hope, I promised myself that in every battle to come, I would let Frogadier participate. If I could get him to evolve, I had to hope that would fix him.

When Alex and I finally arrived at Lumiose Tower, I felt better. Walking inside, we followed the signs and found ourselves in the Gym Arena where probably every Pokemon that had attacked the city were being healed and examined for lingering affects. The legendary birds definitely weren't here, as they had flown off into the skies of Kalos as soon as they awoke. We looked around and found Robert in a lab coat, tending to a Gogoat. As we walked over, we saw him draw a blood sample, thank the Grass type, and stand.

"Hey," he grinned at us. "Finally made it over here?"

"Yep," Alex responded. "How are all the Pokemon?"

"Doing great actually," Robert sounded happy. "Nothing too serious with any of them and we did manage to get samples of whatever they were injected with. I'm off to check to see if this blood contains any as well. The more we have, the better chance we can find a cure to stop the Pokemon without hurting them to do so."

We had followed him to where a makeshift lab had been set up and began typing away at a computer. He inserted the tube of blood into a machine and the screen began flashing. Alex and I both watched Robert work as he tuned out the rest of the world. He seemed to be in his element.

Looking around again, I saw Clemont across the room, working on what looked like a robot, Bonnie up in the stands playing with her Dedenne.

Striding over, with Alex just behind me, I said, "Hey, Clemont!"

...

"So," Robert swallowed a bit of sandwich, us three having gone to a nearby cafe so Robert could take a break. "You're saying Lysandre knows?"

I nodded, still on edge despite us all having given Clemont our Holo Casters for inspection. He had said he would also relay the information of the Holo Casters and about Lysandre being a part of Team Flare to Ash and Serena when he saw them.

"Well dang," Robert leaned back in his chair. "This seriously isn't good. Who knows how much Team Flare knows about us now."

"Hopefully less than we fear," Alex wore a grimace.

"Well, nothing we can really do about it," Robert shrugged. "By the way, the gym should reopen in two days."

"So more time to kill," I sighed. "What're we going to do tomorrow?"

"I actually have a suggestion," Robert grinned. "But we'll need to contact Looker first."

Folding my hands, I asked, "Why?"

Robert's grin turned sly. "I think I've figured out where that Ditto came from."

...

The big-bellied Team Flare scientist tapped away at the controls, checking the vitals.

"Well," the cultist asked, his hood concealing his face. "Is she ready?"

"Not quite," Xerosic replied. "But I assure you, our alliance will result fruit. This girl will definitely become the best sacrifice, given some time of course."

The cultist nodded. "She'd better. We're having to focus our attention away from public chaos for a while. If she doesn't turn out to be a better sacrificial pawn than the Hero Born of Darkness..."

"Don't worry," Xerosic grinned at the girl floating in the incubation tank. "She'll be the one."

He frowned. "But you should worry about Zeno. From what we know, it would be better to kill him before he meddles any further."

"Indeed," the Cultist said. "But that will depend on the All-Powerful One. If she wishes him to watch her rise once more, we will do as she says. Chaos will one day be reborn and the world will crumble beneath her."

**Okay, I know I said a gym battle was supposed to happen, but as I started writing, it went a different way than expected. Of course, I'm totally fine with that. The gym battle won't happen next chapter either, but that just means we get to see the Dittos once more. So, I hope you all enjoyed this laid-back chapter. Our heroes finally got some down time from journeying and dealing with criminal organizations, cults, and a gothic rival, but I guess Robert's version of that is working. To each their own I guess. Anyway, until next time, which will probably be in a couple days at most. Thanks to the coronavirus, I have school off this whole week, plus Spring Break. So that's just over two weeks with no school and plenty of time to write. I'm going to go all out with LDOC and TMR2 stuff, so prepare yourselves. Toodles**


	37. Chapter 36: The Ditto Corporation

"You sure you two are enough?" I asked as we all stood in the alleyway, the Ditto Corporations building across the street outside the alley.

Looker nodded and Anabel said, "Looker and I are the finest the International Police have to offer. Besides, most of the Kalos division are currently trying to locate the Cult at the moment. What we do have though are the operatives lined and waiting around the building. Any who try to escape will be caught."

"Sounds good enough," Alex said, looking at the building. "Can we be sure how many Dittos are in there?"

"No," Looker narrowed his eyes. "Anyone and everyone, including the Pokemon, could be Dittos. So it's essential we stick together."

"Robert?" I looked at my friend, who was tinkering with his Pokedex. "Any ideas?"

"Yeah," He looked up, holding up his device. "This."

"This?" Looker and Anabel both asked, but Alex and I both knew Robert enough to understand this would be game changing.

"I had Clemont make some modifications himself," Robert said proudly. "Then I made a few of my own. With this, we can scan anyone to see if they're a Pokemon or not."

"What about Pokemon?" Looker asked, keenly interested in the device.

"If I adjust the settings," Robert pressed a few buttons. "It can identify the true identity of a Pokemon. Dittos copy everything about a Pokemon, right down to their DNA. But it's all copies. So if I can isolate the gene that makes a certain species of Pokemon, say a Snorlax, then I can compare that gene to the gene of the Pokemon I'm scanning. There should be a telltale sign it's a copy. Research on Dittos have confirmed that. I even had Clemont boost the speed of the scanners themselves, so it'll take only a second to confirm the results, give or take."

Looker and Anabel both blinked.

"Just go with it," I advised. "We've been trying to understand how Robert can do all this ever since we met him."

"Say," Looker rubbed his chin. "Ever consider a career in Forensics? I dare say the International Police would love to recruit you."

"Nah," Robert waved his hand. "I would prefer to stay away from that kind of life. I want to use my brain for Pokemon Research and that alone."

"I see," Looker nodded, and I had a feeling he would still try to recruit our friend somewhere down the road.

"Enough with the needless chatter," Anabel spoke. "We have the authorization to go right in and take into custody any Ditto we find."

She held up a bag. "We have specially made Pokeballs in here that'll help in capturing the Dittos."

I held the bag open with my hands, my eyes widening. "Aren't these..."

"Master Balls," Looker confirmed, Robert and Alex both gasping. "Require a ton of money to make and a lot of resources. This is a good portion of the stock in the IP's care. We'll of course be able to reuse them once we release the Pokemon inside, so as long as they don't break, using them shouldn't be a problem."

"30 total," Anabel said, passing them out. "6 for each of us. If there turns out to be more Dittos than Master Balls, just faint them. We have another team coming in later either for back-up or clean-up. They'll handle everything then."

"Now before we go," Anabel stared each of us in the eye. "You're just trainers. This could get very dangerous. Your lives could be at risk. Are you sure you still want to do this?"

"Of course," Alex and Robert said before me.

Smiling, I said, "Yes. You both probably know what we've managed to do in Alola. Stuff like this is nothing new."

"So," I held up Frogadier's pokeball. "We're ready for anything."

"I swear," Looker shook his head, smiling. "Any more of this and we just might have to recruit you all."

"Move out," Anabel said, taking the lead, her Mismagius appearing and floating next to her.

"Frogadier," I let him out as we all followed Looker's superior. "Let's do our best."

He nodded his dark blue head, straightening the bubbles on his neck. Alex had her Litleo out walking alongside her and Robert his Quilladin. Good choice since Snorlax would probably easily break the building floors. Looker's Inteleon was waiting by the front door of the building, undoing his camouflage and giving us a thumbs up before disappearing again. We were good to go and we weren't expected.

Anabel burst through the doors. "Hands up! Everyone is a suspect until we've cleared the building!"

Office Workers froze as well as several Pokemon, a few scattered papers drifting to the floor.

"What's the meaning of this!?" A woman with styled blonde hair screeched from behind the service desk. "Who are you people!?"

"Operatives of the International Police," Anabel stalked up to her, flashing a badge. "We've been informed that this building holds Dittos disguised as humans and Pokemon. One of them is most definitely a murderer and the rest are accomplices. All will be under arrest."

"You have no proof!" the woman got face-to-face with Anabel.

A beep echoes across the room. All eyes turned to look at Robert, who was checking his pokedex next to the two women. "Huh, neat, so it _does_ work."

He looked up and jerked a thumb at the Desk Lady. "She's one of 'em. Let's bag her and keep moving."

Anabel held up one of the Master Balls. "You'll be coming in for questioning, _Ditto_."

The Desk Lady's face was still twisted with rage, but then she calmed down, smiling sweetly. "Good luck reaching the top. You won't have enough of those to capture all of us. This is a 50-story building. Think of how many there are of us."

Everyone besides our group of five turned to face us. At least down here, they were all Dittos.

"So this is basically us trying to siege a tower, am I right?" I looked at the Desk Lady.

She nodded. "Not even you can win against all of us, Hero Born of Darkness."

"I beg to differ," I smirked. "Wanna know why?"

She didn't answer, so I spoke. "Because I happen to be an expert at sieging towers."

I snapped my fingers and Frogadier leapt into action, throwing down a smokescreen.

"Inteleon!" Looker shouted.

With a ping, the elevator doors opened, Inteleon having pressed the button.

"Get them!" someone shouted.

_"In a desperate situation," _I thought, running through the smoke and dodging bodies alongside Frogadier. _"They will make the first move that comes to mind. That will be their mistake!"_

Looker already had the doors opened to the stairwell, ushering us in. The Dittos in the room could try and escape into Lumiose, but there would be officers waiting.

Robert was next in, followed by Anabel, who was the last one.

"If we can't take them all out," Anabel said, her Mismagius guarding the door with Inteleon. "We'll just have to smoke them out and take out the ones we can along the way. Make sure to find their leader. Take them out and it'll be game over."

As we ran up the flights of stairs, I thought back to when Robert had told us of this information.

_"Okay, the Ditto Corporations as its name is kind of a big giveaway," Alex said. "But do we have definite proof?"_

_"I staked the place out," Robert assured us, showing us the video on his Holo Caster, which he had gotten back from Clemont just for this. "I managed to hack into their security cameras and I got this."_

_In the video, it looked like normal business in the office, but then one of the people in suits transformed into a Ditto in front of everyone else and slipped beneath the door. Seeming as no one in the video reacted to that, they either must be with the Dittos or Dittos themselves._

_"I did a bit more digging," Robert went on, shutting the video off and moving to pictures now of a room with a table with maps and drawings on the surface. "And I think I figured out what exactly they've been planning."_

_He zoomed in on the map of what we could now see was of Lumiose City, then a map of Kalos._

_"I think they're planning to take over the region," Robert said. "From what I could see of some of their plans is that they're planning to get rid of important people and replacing them with Dittos."_

_"You know," I pinched my nose. "If this wasn't serious, I would laugh at how ridiculous all of this sounds. Dittos taking over the region? The world's next probably? This is just..."_

_"Yeah," Alex agreed. "But we should probably stop them. They could easily do this and start a Ditto Revolution of sorts."_

_"From what I've managed to gather," Robert made a different picture pop up. A new office was being shown, probably the one for the CEO. A single Dittos sat on the desk, staring down at the plans. "This is the leader. I'm not certain about this, I did a lot of surveillance checking, but I'm pretty sure he keeps a link with all the other Dittos. So take him out and there's a chance we take all them out. At least we'll take out their leader if nothing else."_

_"Indeed," I nodded. "I'll call Looker. He'll want to be in on this one."_

_"And here we are,"_ I thought as a door above us burst open, people piling out onto the stairs._"We just have to reach the top and stop the Ditto Revolution, as stupid as it sounds."_

"Snipe Shot!" Looker shouted as we all had to stop.

Inteleon appeared, clinging to the side of the wall just ahead of us, aiming his finger upwards. He shot several shots, each one blasting into a person, purple goop blasting behind them as holes were left in their bodies as they were blasted backwards. One of the people pushed themselves forwards, transforming into an Electivire, electricity blasting down the stairs towards all of us.

"Mismagius!" Anabel shouted.

Her Ghost Pokemon floated between us and the electric move, blasting it with her own Thunderbolt.

"Get up there Quilladin!" Robert shouted. "Needle Arm!"

"Help him!" I ordered. "Cut!"

"Flamethrower!" Alex yelled.

Litleo fired a blasts of fire upwards, blasting the Electivire back, but two more Dittos took its place, transforming into a Seismitoad and Heatmor.

"GO!" Robert and I shouted.

Frogadier slashed Heatmor across the chest as Quilladin scraped his needles along Seismitoad.

"Water Pulse!"

"Seed Bomb!"

"Shadow Ball!" Anabel shouted.

Frogadier landed and leaped off the wall, slamming the sphere of water into Heatmor's face as Quilladin launched huge seeds into Seismitoad. As the Electivire shot forwards, fist crackling with electricity, Mismagius's Shadow Ball exploded against his face.

"We have to keep moving," I said, running up the stairs. "Frogadier, with me!"

He nodded, leapt backwards, then ran alongside me, forming a glowing blade in his hand. I kicked off the wall and slammed my foot against the side of the Electivire's head, only angering it. Frogadier was there, slashing across the Pokemon's face, making it stumble backwards, transforming back into a Ditto.

"Push Forward!" I roared, sending one of the people tumbling down the stairs as Quilladin and Frogadier dealt with the Heatmor and Seismitoad.

Suddenly another Ditto Person transformed into a Doublade, swinging both swords at me. Quickly, I withdrew my knife, the one gifted to me by my family, and deflected one of the blade as I ducked low. I rolled along the flat floor and rose to my feet near the next flight of stairs. I swung my blade, a metal clang ringing out as I tried to hold my own against the Ghost and Steel type.

"LITLEO!" I heard Alex shout. "Help him!"

The small four-legged Fire type raced up the stairs, body glowing bright. A full mane grew around his neck as he let out a huge roar, a noise that echoed up and down the building, causing every enemy Pokemon to shrink back in fear. He sunk his fangs into Doublade and blasted him away with a Flamethrower.

"Thanks," I breathed, looking at the other Ditto People, all of them transforming into Water types. I heard a bang below us as more Ditto People began heading up the stairs our way.

"Go!" Looker shouted to me. "We'll hold them off here!"

"Frogadier, return!" I shouted, then let out Arcanine. "Let's go, buddy."

I leaped on him and he zoomed up the stairs, blasting past the Water types who tried to form a wall. We moved in a circle pattern, the constant turning making me dizzy. I gripped Arcanine's fur tighter, bearing the unsettling feeling.

Arcanine eventually reached the top and burst through a door and into a hallway. I tumbled off of him, squeezing my eyes shut as the motion sickness set in. I was used to fast travel, but this was something else entirely. I heard Arcanine growl and rocket forwards as I hauled myself onto all fours and emptied my stomach onto the blue carpet. Gasping after a minute, I looked up to see singed walls and several Pokemon and People already on the ground, Arcanine's breathing heavy as more Pokemon stood in his way. Wiping my mouth, I stood on shaky legs, holding onto the wall for support, trying not to look out of the window next to me which overlooked the city.

Suddenly, Arcanine was blasted back by a wave of water from a Milotic, which had a Goodra and Trevenant by its side.

"Arcanine," I held up his pokeball, my hand shaking slightly. "Return."

With a red light, he was sucked back into his pokeball.

"Alright then," I grimaced. "Let me pass. Doesn't your leader want to see me. He and I go way back."

It was just a guess, but if what that Ditto back on the Coumarine Express was true, then I knew who exactly was wanting revenge on me. He had also once mentioned to me that he had plans of world domination. It had to be him.

As I had expected, the Pokemon backed off and moved aside, making the way towards a door at the end of the hall clear for me.

At first my legs felt weak, but with each footstep, I felt more strength course through me. My queasiness faded and I walked with a clear purpose. When I reached the door, I felt my bag get ripped off my back, the Master Balls spilling onto the ground. My plan out the window, I grasped the handle, opened the door, and stepped inside a large office. The walls were all glass, giving us a clear view of Lumiose City. Sitting behind an oak desk in a leather chair was an ordinary looking man in business clothes with short black hair.

The door closed behind me as I met his gaze. "It's you, isn't it, 'George'."

He transformed into the dark-skinned police officer I had dealt with back in Konikoni City on Akala Island. "I've been eagerly waiting for the day we would meet again. I'll admit, I never expected it to be this soon. Once I heard of your arrival in Kalos, I knew our paths would cross again."

He chuckled, tipping his officer's hat at me, grinning behind his mustache. "You nearly killed me you know, blasting me into the ocean. Luckily I reformed myself and washed up here in Kalos."

"And you decided to make a business corporation so you could begin your plans for world domination," I said drily. "You know, calling it the Ditto Corporation is a little bold, don't you think?"

"Not at all," the Ditto transformed back into the business man as he stood and turned to gaze out at the city. "We're hiding in plain site. It's pretty funny actually. But one day soon, we will expand our reaches to all of Kalos, then across the world. Dittos will replace every human and Pokemon alive."

"How do you even plan to do that," I asked. "There isn't enough Dittos in the world for that?"

"Tell me," he asked. "Do you know how Dittos breed? All we have to do is split ourselves in half and there you have it. A brand new Ditto is born."

He turned to face me. "But, we can't do it constantly. That's why I made this business. I needed the resources to make a serum that would allow us to multiply infinitely."

He held up a vial. "This is what will begin the Ditto Revolution. You're actually on time, believe it or not. This was just created by my science team. I call it, the D-serum."

"Very creative," I folded my arms. "You realize telling me your plans is just going to allow me to know how to stop it, right?"

He grinned. "You can try, Hero Born of Darkness."

He popped open the vial and before I could even take a step forwards, he drank it. He licked his lips, apparently savoring the taste. "Oh yes, I can feel it!"

His eyes were huge as purple ooze bubbled out from the sides of them. His body grew smaller until he was just another regular Ditto. Then he split himself in half, two Dittos forming. They both transformed into the business man and the police officer.

"AHA!" they shouted in unison. "It works! The world shall be ours!"

They both looked at me and stepped out from either side of the desk, both splitting in half as they did so, two more people forming, each a different person. Then they all split again. Now there were eight total.

"Don't you see, Zeno," they all spoke together, making it sound like some weird choir of voices. "This is what we can do now. There is no stopping us. We will take over the world and make it a world only for Dittos."

I took a step backwards, all hope fading. So much for Chaos. This was might actually be worse...

I chuckled.

"What's so funny?" they glared at me.

"Oh, nothing," I wiped an imaginary tear away. "It's just, how are you going to decide the leader of this 'new world'?"

That stopped them.

"I mean," I rubbed the back of my head. "I guess you're all technically the same Ditto, so you're all the leaders, but shouldn't there be someone who controls the rest, since you all do have independent thoughts."

"It would be me of course," all them said, then they looked at one another. "No, me! It should be me!"

"Obviously me," the business man said, stepping out of the crowd. "I am the original."

He took a step backwards as all eyes were on him now. "But we are you! But better!"

They all lunged for him, gripping and clawing, becoming a mess of purple goop.

I opened the door and looked at the Pokemon outside. "You should probably stop them."

They burst past me and entered the fray, but were only dragged into it.

"Alright," I let out all my Pokemon. "Let's end this. Take them out!"

Arcanine blasted a Heat Wave, Frogadier a Water Pulse, Lucario an Aura Pulse, Mawile a surge of Fairy Wind, and Corvisquire Air Slash. The moves blasted into the pile of half formed humans, Pokemon, and goop. The resulting explosion blasted them apart, scattering them. All of them stayed down, except for one.

The business man stood on shaky legs, half of his body purple goop. "You! You did this!"

"Look," I raised my hands. "You thought it would be a great idea to replicate the leader. Of course there's going to be strife."

He growled and transformed into a younger body. Raven black hair and clothes that matched the hair color. A black trench flowed behind him as he ran forwards. I raised my arm, deflecting the blow from a younger Me. The Me from Alola.

He grinned. "This body! I can see why have made it this far in life."

He swung his leg around and I caught it and twisted him away. He leaped backwards on both feet, whipping out an eerily familiar knife. The knife I used to kill Hauntings.

"I will end you!" he shouted, the anger in the voice that sounded like mine making me fall back a step.

Arcanine stepped forwards, but I held out a hand. "I got this."

I ran forwards, dodging to one side to avoid the knife, and kicked his knees out from beneath him. As I went for his head, he twisted around and kicked his feet into my stomach. I landed on my back, groaning from the impact.

"So this is what it's like to fight me," I thought as I leaped back to my feet.

He lunged again, driving his knife towards my throat. Quick as a flash, I deflected the blade with my own knife. I grabbed his wrist and twisted, the knife falling out of his hand. With a yell, he swung his foot up, slamming it into my side. Grunting, I slashed his stomach, purple goop spilling, but he quickly fixed it.

I put my knife back into its sheath. "Looks like I'm going to have to beat you down with my own fists."

We both yelled and charged. I slammed my fist into his face, driving it in as hard as I could. He gripped one arm with both hands and attempted to break it. Wishing to avoid an injury like that, I jabbed my other hand into his throat, causing him to stumble back, gasping for air.

I jumped and swung my leg into his head, slamming him to the ground. I brought down my fist, but he rolled to avoid it, and jumped up. He twisted and flung off his trench, using it to tangle me up in it. I flailed and was brought to the ground, gritting my teeth.

"Now," he grinned above me, my own eyes staring back at me with anger. "You die!"

An intense heat nearly burned my face as a stream of fire literally blasted the Ditto's head apart. The body stumbled away from me, a new head already growing. Mawile was there, her back jaw ripping apart his stomach. Lucario had leapt into the air and brought his fist down onto the newly formed head, knocking the Ditto out.

He lay there, his body forming into me once more, but he stayed down.

"Thanks," I said as the trench coat on me collapsed into a pile of goop.

I walked over to my body lying on the floor. "I must say, I'm harder to fight than I expected."

...

"That clears everything up then," Looker said as we all watched them cart the Ditto/Me away in a glass container, his hatred-filled eyes locked onto me. "Good job."

"What was it like fighting yourself?" Robert looked very eager to know.

"Painful," I rubbed my head. "He got some good blows in."

I looked at Looker. "He should be the only one with the D-serum in him. But, just in case..."

Looker nodded. "We'll be taking all the necessary precautions, don't worry."

"In the meantime," Looker looked at the three of us. "Get back to your journey. Let the adults handle the Cult. We'll find them. I hear they got the Lumiose Gym back up and running. Maybe go and get another badge."

"Sure," I said. "But we won't stay on the sidelines. We'll still help fight the Cult and anyone else out there causing trouble."

Alex nodded. "This is our fight as well. Plus, we have a good track record."

Looker sighed. "Can't argue with that."

He smiled. "Call me if there's ever any trouble too big for you to handle. We'll be around."

He waved and left to talk with Anabel, who was overseeing all the Dittos getting taken into captivity.

"Let's head to the Pokemon Center," Alex said. "It's nearly night. We'll need rest before we take on Clemont."

Robert nodded. "We'll also need to see if he managed to fix those Holo Casters for us as well."

With that, we headed off to the nearest Pokemon Center, the next badge right around the corner for Alex and I.

I rubbed Frogadier's pokeball. _"We'll win this, together."_

**Sorry for the late update. I may have procrastinated a little working on this, but I feel it turned out good in the end. Plus, I somehow got it over 4000 words. Didn't think this chapter would honestly. Okay, so the reason why it took this long (aside from a little procrastination), was because I was working on side projects. Nothing more will be said for the moment. Until next time. Toodles**


	38. Chapter 37: Double Battle in Lumiose

"Frogadier!" I shouted. "Water Pulse!"

Frogadier leaped into the air, heaving a sphere of water in the direction of the enemy.

"Dodge!" I yelled as a blast of energy rocket towards him.

The Water type leapt to the side, the beam missing him by a inch. He landed on his feet, a fiery passion burning in his eyes.

"Let's go! Power-Up Punch!" I roared, letting myself smile at the feeling of our bond grow stronger.

As Frogadier jumped and drew back his fist, power surging through us, I felt sudden snap. Everything went silent as Frogadier's eyes widened, mouth hanging open as he hung in the air, a choking sound coming from his throat. I watched in horror as his body went limp and he crashed to the ground, not moving

"FROGADIER!"

...

My eyes snapped open, my breathing erratic, my whole body sweating as my heart raced. Adrenaline was pumping through me, making me wide awake. I sat up in the bed I was in, the sound of my heart beating the only thing I could hear. With shaking hands, I nearly tumbled out of the bed and swiped at the belt that held my pokeballs.

I just stared at the one in my hand, trying to get my heart rate down. I controlled my breathing, one hand clutching at my shirt.

"It wasn't real," I spoke softly, repeating the words over and over. "It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It..."

I stood and unclipped the pokeball from the belt. Careful not to wake Robert or Alex at this point, I quietly headed out of the room in the Pokemon Center. I made my way to the battlefield out in the back, sitting on a bench.

I looked up at the night sky, barely any stars visible. I looked back down at the pokeball in my hand and held it out. Pressing the button, I let out Frogadier. The Bubble Frog Pokemon stretched and looked around, apparently confused at being let out at this time.

"Fro?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Hey," I said softly, smiling sadly. "I just wanted to see how you were doing, Frogadier."

"Fro fro," he said, nodding his head.

I gave a small laugh. "That's good to hear."

My smile faltered and I looked down at my lap. "Listen, we have a tough battle ahead of us tomorrow. We'll be up against Electric types."

I looked up at my Pokemon. "I know you want to get stronger, enjoy as much as you can. But I still have to ask. Do you want to do this still?"

Frogadier gave a swift nod, eyes full of determination.

Taking a deep breath, then letting it out, I held out a fist. "Then let's do this. Let's win, despite the huge disadvantage. I believe in you."

"Fro!" Frogadier said confidently, bumping my fist with his own.

...

"A double battle?" Alex and I both asked.

We were both standing on the Lumiose Gym battlefield, Clemont in front of us and Ash, Serena, Bonnie, and some guy wearing overhauls and sporting a beard. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

"That's right," Clemont nodded, pushing up his glasses, catching the light. "It's a way to get things moving faster. It's become imperative that much rides on us being swift. So," He pointed his finger at us. "The only logical solution is to do both of your gym battles at once so both of our groups can hurry up with our journeys. After all, the Lumiose Conference isn't that far off. Only 3 weeks as of now. You have a lot to do if you want to participate."

Mentally, I felt pain. _"If I can't somehow get Frogadier to evolve soon, he's not going to make it to the conference."_

"So we'll be your opponents," Clemont held out his hands as Ash came to stand next to him, looking slightly embarrassed. "Clembot is busy handling some tasks for me, including the Holo Casters, so that's why I need Ash."

"Wait," Alex shook her head. "How are you able to qualify as a gym leader."

Ash shrugged and Clemont explained. "He already proved himself stronger than me earlier, so technically he has the potential to be the fifth gym leader as well. At least until he proves himself stronger than that. But don't worry. He'll still be using only Electric type Pokemon like me."

"That's fine," I waved my hand. "That just makes me want to win more. This time, Ash, I'll beat you."

"You're going to have to," he grinned right back, straightening his hat. "Or you won't be able to get your gym badge."

"Hey," Alex butted in. "Don't forget about me. I ain't going to let either you or Clemont win either."

"Then let's get this show on the road," Clemont said. "Dad, why don't you be the referee?"

The man wearing overhauls stood and grinned. "Alright, son. Might as well."

As he jumped onto the battlefield from the stands, he jerked his thumb at himself. "The name's Meyer."

I chuckled, then smirked slightly. "Nice to meet you again, Meyer."

"Again?" Clemont asked.

"Oh," Meyer rubbed his head, turning his head so Clemont wouldn't see him wink. "We ran into each other once."

Alex shot me a confusing look, then looked at Meyer, then understanding dawned on her face.

"There goes his secret identity," Robert whispered to us before leaving the battlefield.

"Now then," he clapped his hands as we all took our positions. "This will be a Double Battle for the possession of the Lumiose Gym Badge! The gym battle between the challengers, Zeno and Alex, and the Lumiose gym leader and his helper, Clemont and Ash, will now commence! Each person will only have the use of two Pokemon this time around, as it is a Double Battle! When one side loses all their Pokemon, the winner will be decided! Only the challengers may substitute Pokemon!"

"I may be young still," Clemont smirked as a mechanical arm retracted from his backpack, holding a pokeball. "But I am the fifth gym leader of Kalos! I'll show you both why I earned that spot! With the power of science! Go, Emolga!"

"Back him up," Ash tossed out a pokeball. "Magneton!"

"Let's win this, Alex," I glanced at her. "Have my back?"

"There's no need to question it," she grinned, sending her Absol out. "Help us out, Absol!"

"Frogadier," I let him out. "I choose you."

"Take the first move," Alex shouted, thrusting out her hand. "Night Slash on Magneton!"

"Water Pulse on Emolga!" I yelled.

"Quick Attack!" Clemont ordered.

Emolga slammed into Frogadier, cutting off his attack.

"Thunderbolt!"

Magneton blasted a bolt of electricity along the ground, heading straight for Absol.

"Tear through it!" Alex commanded.

Absol's claws slashed through the air, dark wind scattering away the Thunderbolt.

"Volt Switch!" Clemont shouted.

"Dodge!" I shouted and Frogadier jumped and twisted his body to avoid the rings of electricity. "Now use Cut!"

Frogadier landed low on the ground and shot forwards, leaping into the air, slashing his blade along Emolga's back.

"Let's switch dance partners!" Ash shouted as Magneton was sent back by Absol. "Magnet Bomb on Frogadier!"

"Stop him with Psycho Cut!" Alex ordered.

"Aerial Ace!" Clemont directed his hand towards Absol.

Quick as a flash, Emolga zoomed up into the air and shot towards Absol, slamming her back.

"Get in there," I shouted and Frogadier ran to help.

"Not so fast!" Ash grinned. "Thunderbolt!"

Magneton zoomed in front of Frogadier's path, charging up electricity on its bottom two magnets.

"Use your bubbles to cancel it!" I commanded. "And hit with Power-Up Punch!"

Frogadier leaped past Magneton, landing a blow on Magneton. The Electric and Steel type's magnets were now covered in Frogadier's bubbles, shortening out the Thunderbolt.

"Night Slash!" Alex shouted.

"Aerial Ace!"

"Quick Attack and Cut!"

Frogadier ran to catch up to Emolga and leaped, slicing with his blade. Emolga cried out as she was knocked off balance. A dark wind blew upwards, blasting her away.

"Emolga!" Clemont cried.

"Magneton!" Ash shouted. "Thunder Wave on Frogadier!"

Frogadier tried to dodge, but he was hit by the electrical attack, wincing as jolts of electricity ran through his body.

"Hang in there," I grimaced. "Alex, we'll try and rush them both, but I'll need Absol there for support when Frogadier falls behind."

"On it," she nodded. "Absol, bring up the rear for support!"

"Charge right in!" I yelled. "Frogadier, Water Pulse!"

Frogadier narrowed his eyes and burst forwards, throwing a sphere of water underhand right up Emolga, who had to dodge to avoid the attack.

"Volt Switch!" Clemont shouted.

"Cover him! Double Team!"

A dozen Absols popped into existence, the Volt Switch blasting into one of them.

"Now!" I roared. "Power-Up Punch!"

Frogadier leaped, drawing back his fist. For a second, my dream came back to me, but Frogadier didn't falter. He slammed his fist into Magneton, knocking him backwards. The Steel type turned a whole 360 degrees before recovering, magnets sparking.

"Blast them both with Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Power-Up Punch!" I shouted, but as Frogadier tried to move, his body seized up as electricity sparked along his body.

"Me First!" Alex shouted.

Absol leaped past Frogadier, a sudden energy ball bursting from Magneton and zooming into Absol. Magneton's sparks died out, but Absol's body lit up with electricity. She growled, blasting Magneton with a much more powerful Thunderbolt.

"Cut!" I shouted.

Frogadier shot upwards, hurting Emolga before she could interfere.

"Aerial Ace!"

Emolga recovered and slammed into Frogadier, but Absol was there when the Water type was knocked back, slashing upwards. The Flying type fell to the ground, fainted.

"Emolga is unable to battle!" Meyer shouted. "Gym Leader Clemont, send out your final Pokemon!"

"I'm not done yet," Clemont's mechanical arm returned Emolga and fetched a second pokeball. "Come on out, Luxray!"

"Hurry!" I yelled. "Power-Up Punch on Magneton!"

"You too!" Alex shouted. "Night Slash!"

Both moves combined finally brought down the Electric and Steel type, making Ash return the Pokemon.

"Magneton is no longer able to battle!" Meyer shouted as Alex and I high-fived each other. "Ash, send out your final Pokemon!"

"Come on!" Ash grinned as Pikachu leaped from the stands and onto the battlefield. "Let's win this!"

Sharing a glance with Alex, we both nodded. "Return!"

Both of us having returned our Pokemon, we both sent out our longtime partners.

"Alright, Arcanine," I smirked. "Let's show them true speed."

"Ninetales," Alex clenched a fist, grinning. "Show them your power!"

"Flamethrower!" we shouted together.

"Protect yourself and Pikachu with Discharge!" Clemont thrust out his hand.

Luxray bounded forwards, putting Pikachu behind him as a dome of electricity grew outwards from him, protecting against the Flamethrowers. But, this was the combined force of two powerful moves made by two powerful Pokemon. The dome of electricity was shattered and the two fire moves slammed into Luxray.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu leaped over Luxray, cheeks sparking, then he let loose a powerful Thunderbolt.

"Extrasensory!" Alex yelled.

Ninetales' tails shot up as a psychic energy gathered around them and her head. A circular beam shot from her and clashed with the Thunderbolt, barely holding it back.

"Extreme Speed!" I roared.

Arcanine burst forwards, heading straight for Luxray.

"Wild Charge!" Clemont countered.

Luxray ran forwards, barely having enough time to coat himself with electricity before Arcanine crashed into him. Luxray tumbled through the dirt, glaring at Arcanine as he went to stand back up.

"Iron Tail!"

Pikachu slammed his tail across Ninetales' face, skidding along the dirt as he landed.

"Now use Thunder!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu fired a electricity upwards into a forming dark cloud, a huge thunderbolt brewing.

"Switch!" I shouted.

Alex nodded. "Ninetales, get out of there!"

Ninetales ran for Luxray as Arcanine ran past her.

"Heat Wave!" I shouted.

"Too late!" Ash grinned.

A huge bolt of lightning struck Arcanine, making him howl in pain.

"Again!" Ash pointed his finger upwards and Pikachu responded by charging up another Thunder.

Suddenly, the terrain exploded with electricity.

Clemont grinned. "Now we're more powerful! Wild Charge!"

Luxray howled and ran for Ninetales, electricity streaming off of him.

"Flame Wheel!" I shouted.

Arcanine rolled into a flaming wheel and burst towards Pikachu just as the Thunder hit him, creating a huge cloud of smoke.

"Inferno!" Alex yelled.

A huge cyclone of fire burst into existence in front of her, Luxray being burned as he ran through it, but still slamming his body into the Fire type.

Then, out of the smoke, Arcanine in Flame Wheel burst forth, fire and electricity surrounding him.

"We've always seemed to have an affinity for electricity," I grinned. "Now, let's use that to our advantage! Get him!"

Arcanine slammed into Pikachu, sending him flying.

"No way!" Ash looked both shocked and excited. "That's so amazing! Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu landed on all fours, bruised, but his body was enveloped in electricity all the same as he shot towards Arcanine.

"Meet him with Flare Blitz!" I roared.

Arcanine howled as he ran to butt heads with the Electric Mouse Pokemon.

"Quick Attack!" Alex shouted and Ninetales slammed Luxray away, who was still suffering from his burn. "Now, Fire Blast!"

While Luxray was still trying to regain himself, a fiery symbol burst into existence in front of him, reflecting in his eyes.

"GO!" Alex and I shouted simultaneously.

Two explosions rocked the gym, creating a huge cloud of smoke. When it began to clear, Luxray and Pikachu still stood, breathing heavily. Arcanine and Ninetales were in a similar position. All four were reaching their limits. The Electric Terrain had shorted out, leaving the battlefield as it was to start.

"We're so close," Alex grinned, placing one foot back. "We cant falter now."

"Agreed," I shared her passion. "Let's finish this. Heat Wave!"

Arcanine slammed a paw forwards, a visible heat cascading towards their opponents.

"Discharge!" Clemont and Ash shouted.

Two domes of electricity exploded into being, canceling out the Heat Wave.

"Quick Attack!" they shouted again. "Take out Arcanine!"

Luxray and Pikachu ran forwards together, both heading straight my Fire type.

"Extreme Speed!" I shouted, thrusting out my hand.

Both enemy Pokemon slammed Arcanine away, making him bounce backwards.

"Aiming for just him was a good plan," Alex smirked. "But that only gave us an opportunity!"

As Arcanine fell, Ninetales was there behind him, a ball of green energy forming above her nine tails.

"Solar Beam!" Alex shouted while grinning.

There was no time to react. The powerful energy beam blasted both Electric Pokemon and blasted them across the battlefield. Neither was able to get back up.

Meyer raised his hand. "Luxray and Pikachu are unable to battle! That means the winners are Zeno and Alex!"

"YES!" Alex and I both shouted, fist bumping.

"You two both won," Clemont walked forwards, his robot arm putting his Pokemon away as Ash went to pick up his Pikachu. "Quite spectacularly too. Honestly, I'm amazed at your teamwork."

His mechanical arm extended towards us, on it were two gym badges. "I present to both of you the Voltage Badge. With it, you two are one step closer to being qualified in the Pokemon League."

"And that means we're at the same spot in our journey," Ash said, coming over. "This is where it gets more interesting."

"And next time," I grasped his hand. "I will beat you in a full battle."

"Hah," Ash grinned. "Maybe, but once we see each other in the league," his eyes gleamed. "That's where I'll prove to everyone I am a Pokemon Master!"

Alex and I both took our badges and fit them into our badge case.

"Up next," I turned towards her.

"The 6th gym," she grinned.

"Looks like it's time to finally head out of Lumiose," Robert said as he joined us. "We've been in one place for longer than usual. But, let's set a course for Laverre City!"

**Probably one of my more favorite battles to write. As Clemont noted, Zeno and Alex's teamwork is something special. Both their signature Pokemon are Fire types and work extremely well together. A duo their enemies should watch out for in the future. Well, until next time. I gotta post a chapter for TMR 2 soon, so anyone reading that, look forwards to that. Toodles**


	39. Chapter 38: Fragile Bond

"Please," I reached out my hand desperately. "Please! I can save you!"

Mira smiled at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. Then blood filled my vision and I sunk into darkness. Images flashed around me. The pouring rain as the Cult of Chaos advanced on the Tower of Majesty, their attack in the middle of Lumiose, and the murders they commited, including the girl I failed to save.

Waves of dark pink and violet splashed around me, rising above my neck, choking me. I felt myself sinking into the chaos around me, my mind buzzing. A dark shape swam around me in a zigzagging pattern, giant claws curling around my middle.

_"Oh sweet, sweet hero,"_ the voice cooed, like venom coursing through my entire being. _"You were so important. A necessary sacrifice for me to rise."_

_"However,"_ her claws sunk into my side and I gasped in pain, liquid surging into my body._ "My cult decided _she_ would be the best course of action. A new sacrifice."_

"Do not worry," a single claw was dragged down the length of my body. _"I won't let them kill you. While you may no longer be a part of the plan, I do wish for you to witness my return. They think you can stop me from rising, but I want you to watch in despair as chaos engulfs the Earth once more. You will see the end of days and you will be broken, unable to do a thing to stop me."_

I saw Mira floating above me, lifeless eyes haunting me. _"She will not be the last, I promise you, Hero Born of Darkness."_

...

My eyes snapped open, awakening into a dark room. Hard floorboard pressed against my back, the sound of the wind outside producing eerie noises in this old house. Sitting up, I groaned, my back aching. Then I stopped, my gaze fixed on the little girl in front of me. With her white dress, she seemed to glow in the darkness. Her dark hair flowed behind her, her face hidden behind shadows. A Drifloon seemed to float down from thin air, grabbing the girl's hands. She seemed to smile as she was pulled back and up into the air, vanishing into nothing.

...

"I told you the house was a bad idea," Robert said, shivering as the light rain managed to drip through the large leaves that looked as if Fall had already arrived. "Things never go right when ghosts are involved."

"Tell me about it," I glanced back at the run-down house we had for some reason thought it was a good place to spend the night in. "Never doing something like that again."

"You ever look at the branches and see gnarled hands reaching towards you," Alex pointed at said branches, reaching over the path.

"Stop," Robert pressed his hands over both ears. "Stop I say!"

Alex grinned. "What? Is the big baby scared of ghosts?"

Robert shot a glare at her. "They're not natural."

"What about Ghost types?" I asked.

"Not natural," Robert repeated. "There are so many twisted myths and stories surrounding Ghost types and their origins."

"So you really don't like ghosts?" Alex looked surprised. "You've mentioned it, but you've never really acted like it. I mean, Zeno had Mimikyu as one of his travelling Pokemon before."

Robert shrugged as our feet splashed through the murky swamp. "Well, Mimikyu is an oddity in their own right. Some Ghost types are different than the rest, but the majority have some twisted backstory to them."

The wind shifted, blowing towards us, carrying with it fall-colored leaves.

"It's the height of summer," I plucked one out of the air. "And yet it's fall over there."

Just ahead of us now, further down the path, was Laverre City. The swamp gave way to a clear and dry path as the grass became green. We were coming down a hill, some houses closer together than others, paths connecting the city. There were fields of grass with children and Pokemon playing, and trees scattered around in groups. A huge autumn-colored tree stood tall over the rest by a good amount, growing behind a mansion with what looked like a catwalk for models. A river snaked through the valley, leading to a more modern city with a riverwalk and bridge connecting the city on both sides of the river.

Alex breathed in. "Feels like summer is ending early. It's nice."

"_The city of otherworldly dreams_," I read off a sign we were coming up on.

"Certainly feels like it," Robert nodded. "Home to the Fairy-type Gym Leader of the Kalos Region."

"Hey, would you look at that," Alex pointed at the huge tree growing behind the mansion, big reddish-orange and white mushrooms growing on it. "There's a clock engraved into it... odd."

"What?" Robert and I both asked, looking at the clock.

"There's 13," Alex looked puzzled.

"13 what?" I blinked, then said, "Oh."

"A clock with 13 hours," Robert mused. "It was mentioned in a travel guide I had read, though it didn't really talk about it much. Maybe we can find out more about it now that we're here."

"So," Alex looked at a second path that branched off to the left. "Should we head towards the main city?"

"If you want to do your gym battle right away," Robert pointed down the path we were already on. "The mansion is the gym, which also doubles as a place for fashion shows."

"Hmm," I looked down at my pants, seeing how they were still soggy and both wet and dried mud stuck to them. "How about we head to the city first. I could do with a change of clothes."

"Oh, right," Alex shook her leg, mud getting flung everywhere. "How did I forget about that. Yeah, I agree with Zeno. It's been a while since we got new clothes anyway."

"To the city it is then," Robert nodded, leading us down the path. "This is actually good. There's this cafe I heard was really sublime. A lovely view of the river as well..."

...

"Hey," Alex called, heading over to where Robert and I were waiting. We had found the cafe Robert had talked about and agreed to meet back there once we got the supplies we needed. Frogadier and Lucario were both out, both having some pokefood.

Alex sighed when she saw the both of us. "I'm the only one who changed their look, huh."

She now was wearing cross-laced olive shorts and an autumn-themed t-shirt with that 13-hour clock on it, carved from the wood of a tree by the looks of it.

"I found them and decided to get them for the heck of it," Alex shrugged, sitting down. "Looking at you two, I can see things never change."

"Robert," she pointed a finger at him. "I can understand. Those are normal clothes. You on the other hand," she directed her finger at me now. "All black? Again? Can't you ever just wear something with color for once?"

"I did," I pointed out. "When you forced me to in Alola. Those were not fun times."

"Honestly," I shrugged. "Black makes me feel comfortable. Any other color and I feel out of place, like I stand out."

Alex sighed again. "Fine, do what you wish. Anyway, I figured out what this meant."

She pointed at the 13-hour clock on her shirt. "It's apparently supposed to signal the Witching Hour when it strikes 13. Only, according to everyone I asked, the hands never touch 13. At least not that anyone has been able to notice."

"What?" Robert looked confused. "How has no one seen it? You think someone would have just watched the hands move."

"That's what I asked," Alex nodded. "A passing trainer with a Charizard overheard my question and said that he had tried that himself. According to him, he must've blinked at some point because the hands had pass the 13 without him even realizing it, making its way to the 1. He also noted that time seemed a bit "odd" for a few seconds."

"Each place has its quirks," I finished my coffee. "What is the "Witching Hour"?"

"Apparently it's an hour outside of normal time where the human and supernatural realm intertwine," Alex explained. "It also said to be the time when fairies are at their strongest."

"Interesting," I noted.

Robert grunted. "Sounds like ghosts to be honest. Not my cup of tea."

Alex and I just stared at him as he sipped his tea. Even with topics that he hated, he still managed to find a way to slip a joke in.

"Unbelievable," Alex shook her head, voicing both of our thoughts. "Anyway, how about we-"

"Oh, hello again," a guy said, walking over to us, the greeting directed at Alex. "I thought I recognized you. You were that girl from earlier asking about the clock."

The older teen had messy black hair and blue eyes. He wore grey baggy pants, black boots and leather jacket, and a pale blue scarf that stuck out on both ends behind him. Beside him was a Charizard, the flame on his tail brighter and bigger than seen on most other Charizards. He also looked stronger, a metal neck brace of sorts at the base of his neck, a megs stone gleaming in the sunlight. Lucario locked eyes with Charizard, tensing, seeming ready to prove himself in a battle with the Fire and Flying type.

"What do you need?" I asked, though I had a good idea.

"I want to battle," he said predictably, looking at Lucario and the Mega Stone on his wrist. "With him. A battle between two Megas."

"We were just about to head down to the gym for our battle," I rubbed the back of my head. "But I wasn't planning on using Lucario in that battle anyway, since he would have somewhat of a type disadvantage. Lucario," I looked at him. "What's your say? Wanna battle?"

Lucario smashed both his fists together, growling as he narrowed his eyes at Charizard.

The guy nodded. "I see your Lucario is eager. Does that mean you will accept?"

"Why not," I stood and grinned. "The name's Zeno."

"Alain," the older teen replied. "I desire to defeat every Mega Pokemon there is with my Mega Charizard."

He patted Charizard's stomach and the big Fire type grr'ed in agreement.

"I guess you could say I'm on this journey for Frogadier here," I rubbed his head affectionately. "But don't underestimate me for a simple reason like that."

...

"Alright," Robert clapped his hands. "This will be a one-on-one battle between Zeno and Alain! Once one Pokemon faints, the battle will be decided! You may begin!"

"Charizard," Alain held up his right hand. "Respond to my heart! Surpass evolution! Mega Evolve!"

Golden lines connected trainer and Pokemon, Charizard growing bigger, blue flames coming out of the sides of his mouth. When the light died, Charizard's body was black and blue, the flame on his tail bigger than ever, burning a deep blue.

"This took some serious modifications," I whipped out my knife, my Keystone lodged into the bottom of the hilt. "But it works!"

I pressed my thumb against the bottom of the hilt, the orb glowing as beams of light connected Lucario and I. "Let our trust never wane and our fighting spirit never diminish! Show them the power of our bond! Lucario, Mega Evolve!"

Lucario howled as he mega evolved, aura swirling around him.

"Charizard," Alain raised his hand. "Flamethrower!"

Charizard leaned his head back, then let loose a blast of blue fire, stronger than even Arcanine's.

"Bone Rush!" I shouted. "Use your aura and block the attack!"

Lucario formed a long bone, twirled it, and slammed it into the ground in front of him, a wind of aura blasting around him. The flames were repelled, splitting into two once nearing the bone.

"Now!" I raised my hand. "Aura Sphere!"

Lucario shot forwards, forming a sphere of energy between his palms.

"Dragon Claw!" Alain yelled.

Charizard's claws grew longer and glowed with draconic energy as he blasted himself towards Lucario. The Fighting type shot the attack, but Charizard sliced through it, bearing the resulting explosion, and slicing his claws across Lucario's chest. He flew backwards, rolling along the ground, before leaping to his feet.

"Hang in there," I grimaced, clutching my heart, feeling our bond spike. "Stay in control."

Lucario breathed heavily, shaking his head, controlling his aura, if only barely.

Alain sighed. "It seems your bond isn't as strong as I had thought. It has a lot of power behind it, but it's fragile. Look, you're barely able to hold it together."

"You haven't seen our true power," I managed a grin. "Power-Up Punch!"

Lucario howled and leaped towards Charizard, fist glowing.

"Flamethrower!"

"Bone Rush!"

Lucario flung a bone down, slicing through the fire attack, driving home a fist into Charizard's head.

"Inferno!" Alain shouted.

A cyclone of fire erupted around Charizard, blasting a smoking Lucario away. He skidded along the dirt. It looked as if he might stay down, but I could feel and practically see his aura rising, head jerking up with beady eyes.

"Charizard," Alain seemed to have lost interest at this point. "Put him down."

Lucario howled as he ran for Charizard, fist pulled back. The Fire type flew above him and blasted a Flamethrower downwards, engulfing the Steel type. When he settled back on the ground, Lucario was laying on the ground, charred and fainted.

Alain sighed as Charizard reverted back to his base form. "It seems I overestimated the both of you. Your bond with your Pokemon is weak."

With that, he turned and walked away, Charizard lumbering after him.

I fell to my knees, gripping my chest, feeling the aftershock of Lucario's and my bond shattering.

"Zeno," Alex ran over and kneeled beside me. "You okay?"

I didn't answer, just stared at the ground, eyes wide as I took deep breaths.

_"Your bond with your Pokemon is weak."_

I gritted my teeth and stood, ignoring my friends as I walked over to Lucario, who was still fainted on the ground and knelt beside him.

_"He defeated us so easily,"_ I held Lucario's paw as my thoughts began to swirl._ "Our bond is... fragile..."_

_"No,"_ I shook my head, trying to gather my usual confidence. _"We just need to train more. Overcome the power of your aura."_

I squeezed Lucario's paw. _"We can't give up. Our bond is strong, we can prove that."_

_"We have too..."_

...

"So you met Zeno?" Lysandre asked, grateful that Alain was able to keep Zeno in the unknown about his move on the Pokeball Factory earlier.

Alain nodded. "I thought he would have been stronger. His bond is weak though, very fragile. And not just with his Mega Lucario."

He looked at his Mega Ring. "This thing is supposed to monitor Mega Evolution readings from both the Pokemon and the trainer. The readings spiked with the Lucario, but once his bond connected with Zeno, it nearly broke."

Lysandre nodded. "Is he not strong?"

"No, that's not it," Alain shook his head. "But he can't hope to keep winning Pokemon battles if his spirit isn't strong enough. If he tries, _his bond will shatter_."

**This chapter should've come out yesterday, but I got distracted (read: got super pissed at a certain Mouse movie company) and my head was filled with unspoken rants. Anyway, finally got Alain into my story. You know, that one guy who had all the pseudo-legendaries in the Kalos League and made sure Ash lost a league for the... 6th time? Yeah, sounds about right. That guy. I actually didn't plan on introducing him this early, but the story went in that direction somehow, so yeah. Next chapter is Zeno's 6th gym battle... against the fairies... Oh god not the fairies! XD! Toodles!**


	40. Chapter 39: Breaking Point

Alex watched as Zeno knelt next to his Lucario, holding his paw in his hand. She didn't hear him say anything, but his silence spoke volumes. She could practically feel the turmoil coming off of him.

Robert put a hand on her shoulder and nodded. Alex looked back at Zeno and took a breath. She walked over carefully and looked down at him. Of course she knew he was holding stuff back from them, both information and feelings. While she didn't know how much, she had a feeling it was all eating away at him whether he would admit to it or not. She should be mad about that, but she knows she's doing the same thing with her past.

"Zeno," she said softly.

"It isn't weak," she heard Zeno mutter. "We'll prove our bond is strong."

He stood suddenly, causing Alex to take a step back. He returned Lucario to his pokeball and spoke without looking at Alex. "Let's head over to the gym."

He walked by Alex, a determined step in his stride. But she saw it and was sure Robert did as well. There was a false confidence behind Zeno's eyes.

"Zeno," she called out to him, but whether he was ignoring her or just didn't hear her over the loudness of his thoughts, he kept walking without a response.

...

As if in a daze, I soon realized I had reached the Laverre Gym. Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the doors. I found myself in a extravagant entrance hall, a desk to my right. Four pillars held up the ceiling and a staircase was at the end of the room, opposite of the main doors. Four women wearing kimonos stood in front of the stairs and they bowed.

"Welcome to the Laverre City Gym," the black-haired one spoke. "If your business here is to battle, then walk on ahead."

They parted, two on each side, making a path to the stairs. Setting my gaze, I tried to walk confidently. _"My bond is strong with my Pokemon. We can win. I will prove that."_

Once up the stairs, I entered the main battling arena. With nature growing around me and the battlefield surrounded by red fencing, it reminded me of old Kantonian gardens. The lights dimmed and the red and white sliding doors making up the walls slid down. Screens lit up and flower petals seemed to fall around me as the scenery changed to a view of fall trees. A woman now stood on the opposite end of the battlefield, dressed in a kind of pink, yellow, and black kimono dress. The sleeves were big and looked like wings. Her black hair swayed behind her, eyes a soft misty black and purple.

"The gym leader Valerie has made her entrance," the other woman from before announced.

"Ah," Valerie tipped her head slightly, eyes seemingly staring into my soul, sending a tingle down my spine. "You're a curious one. You seem to be lost in your turmoil."

She held up her sleeve as she gave a lighthearted chuckle. "If you plan on trying to win with your inner demons creating chaos within you, I'm afraid you have only come to lose."

"My name is Zeno," I gripped a fist, trying not to let her words get to me. "And I will win. So let us battle."

The other woman, who I assumed was going to referee, looked to Valerie. The gym leader nodded and the ref raised her hand. "The gym battle between the Laverre Gym Leader, Valerie, and the challenger, Zeno, will now commence! Each trainer is only permitted the use of two Pokemon! Only the challenger may substitute! That is all!"

"Two?" that was different than most other gyms. "Why just two?"

"I will choose first," Valerie spoke, sending out a Pokemon. "Sylveon, let us show this trainer our skills."

"Fine then," I threw a pokeball. "Let's go, Mawile!"

"Another Fairy," Valerie said dreamily. "How beautiful, but a shame. Disarming Voice."

Sylveon gave a cry, a ring of pink music shooting towards Mawile, getting bigger.

"Use Iron Head," I said.

Mawile tensed, then nodded and her head and back jaw hardened into iron. She jumped forwards, straight through the Fairy attack. She swung her jaw, aiming for Sylveon.

"Grab her," Valerie had a soft smile, voice airy.

Sylveon nodded and her ribbon-like feelers extended forwards, wrapping around Mawile's body and back jaw, snapping it shut.

"Wha-!" my eyes widened.

"Know your Pokemon well," Valerie advised. "Moves aren't the only thing that can allow you to win."

Sylveon swung Mawile around before launching her high up, nearly touching the ceiling. She fell back down, creating a small crater upon impact. Mawile stood, battered and pissed.

"Play Rough!" I shouted.

Mawile launched herself forwards, snarling.

"Hyper Voice," Valerie raised her right sleeve.

Sylveon took a huge breath and let loose a sound that caused me to clasp my ears shut with my hands. It blasted forwards, slamming Mawile away.

_"We haven't landed a single hit yet," _I realized as I looked at a battered Mawile. _"And already she's tiring."_

"Mawile," I said, looking at our opponent. "We can't lose. Not now. Sucker Punch!"

Mawile looked at me, eyes narrowed. Jerking her head back to stare at Sylveon, she crouched, then sprung.

Valerie's eyes reflected sadness. "Giga Impact."

Sylveon ran forwards, wind and energy gathering around her as she rocketed forwards, slamming into Mawile and slamming her out of the arena. Mawile tried to get up, snarling, but went limp.

"Mawile," I whispered. With a grimace, I held up her pokeball and said, "Return." With a flash of red light, she was sucked back into it. I clipped it back to my belt and unclipped Frogadier's.

Letting him out, I said, "We have to defeat two Pokemon, Frogadier. Do it, so you can become stronger. You have too."

Frogadier nodded, looking at his opponent, who had yet to be injured.

"Start with Double Team!" I commanded. "Then use Cut!"

Frogadier multiplied into a dozen other and all of them ran forwards, a small blade in each of their right hands.

"Hyper Voice," Valerie cocked her head to one side.

Another loud yell burst forth from Sylveon, blasting away all the copies. Frogadier slammed his blade into the ground so he wouldn't get blown away.

"Water Pulse!" I shouted.

Frogadier leaped into the air, flinging a sphere of water towards Sylveon.

"Counter with Moonblast," Valerie's said.

Sylveon's feelers gathered in front of her, a sphere of fairy energy gathering there in a sphere before being launched. It collided with the Water Pulse, both moves being cancelled out.

"Cut!" I yelled.

Frogadier appeared to the side of Sylveon, slicing the blade across her side.

"Power-Up Punch!"

Frogadier followed up with his attack with a punch, knocking Sylveon away into the dirt.

"Oh dear," Valerie lifted her sleeve to her mouth. "The dirt's getting all over you."

Sylveon got to her feet and shook herself, eyes narrowed.

"Good," Valerie extended both of her sleeves. "Charm."

Sylveon winked one eye and Frogadier seemed to relax, drooping lower.

"No," I gripped a fist. "Quick Attack!"

"Baby-Doll Eyes."

Now both of Sylveon's eyes blinked, reopening with a pink glow to them. Frogadier faltered in his step, before stumbling past the Fairy type who moved out of the way.

"Moonblast," Valerie raised her sleeve.

"Block with Cut!" I shouted desperately.

Frogadier raised his glowing blade, wincing at the pressure of the Fairy move. The blade cracked before shattering, blasting Frogadier back.

"C'mon Frogadier," I pleaded. "You can't lose. You have to win. To live!"

...

Alex made to move, but Robert held her back.

"What are you doing," she hissed at him. "Can't you see-"

"I do," Robert said, looking at Zeno. "But this needs to happen. I think it's the only way."

Alex shrugged him off and looked at Zeno, who had a desperate look on his face. She knew Robert was right, so she could only scream in her thoughts._ "Please, Zeno. Just stop. Stop this now!"_

...

Clara sighed, turning and leaving the gym. No one had seen her come to watch the battle, but now she had enough. "Seems like he finally reached his breaking point."

She allowed herself a grin. "About damn time."

...

Frogadier picked himself back up, breathing hard.

"You have to live," I tightened both fists. "Quick Attack!"

"Sylveon," Valerie was getting ready to call out the attack, then shouted, "STOP!"

Frogadier was stumbling forwards, eyes bulging, clutching his sides. He let out a strangled croak before falling forwards, collapsing in the dirt.

My eyes were wide. "No. No! Frogadier!"

I ran to him, sliding onto my knees. He wasn't breathing. Panic coursed through me as I cradled him into my arms. Ignoring Valerie as she hurried over and shutting out other voices, I ran like I had never run before.

I saw my Charizard, the one I used to have during my time in Team Rocket. I shot him, killed him so he wouldn't have to suffer. I saw Mira, held captive in the arms of a maniac. I saw her throat get sliced open as blood spurted and I watched her die.

"HELP!" I screamed, bursting into the Pokemon Center that was close by. "I NEED HELP!"

...

I felt empty inside as I waited outside of the room Frogadier was in, sitting on a chair that was hard and uncomfortable. Nurse Joy had to call in other doctors to help her from the main part of Laverre City. They haven't left the room for a while now and I had no idea what was happening.

"Zeno," Alex said tentatively, kneeling in front of me.

"I..." my voice didn't sound normal. I swallowed. "This is my fault."

Alex was about to say something, but I beat her to it. "No, don't say it! I know it is!"

Alex flinched back, as if I physically hurt her.

I felt devoid of hope, my voice reflecting that despair. "I lost myself. I let my emotions get the better of me. I pushed him too hard."

I cradled my head in my arms. "It's all my fault."

I heard the door open and Nurse Joy came out, my head snapping up. She had a weary look on her face and looked at me.

"We managed to stabilize him," she said. "But I'm afraid he's well past his limit. He's only got a little time left. I'm sorry, I figured you should know."

Inside, I felt everything shatter. I stood on weak legs, my hands shaking. With shaky steps, I entered the room, the other doctors and nurses already on their way out, one staying behind to monitor his vitals.

I forced my gaze to look at him. He was laying in a small hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and other machines. A mask was on his face, small breaths, fogged it, but they were too far in-between to be normal. I reached out with shaky hands, clutching his webbed hand.

"Frogadier," I whispered, my words getting stuck in my throat.

"Fr-fro..." Frogadier turned his head slowly, pale yellow eyes staring into mine.

"I'm sorry," I choked out, tears falling. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you."

"Fro-froak," he croaked, the sound in his throat sounding rough as he tried to lift his hand to my face. Then it went limp and fell back into my hands and as if it were far away, I heard a machine flatline.

A cold feeling swept over me. My senses failed me and only minutes later did I realize I was running. Out of the room, through the doors of the building, and out into Laverre City where night had fallen. I had no idea where I was running to, but I couldn't stop. Tears streamed down my face as I ran, a scream of anguish ripping from my throat.

...

Hidden along the outskirts of the city, watching from beneath the crooked trees along the swampy route stood robed figures. One stepped forwards, holding in the palm of his hand a human skull, a glowing orb situated in the left eye socket. A Gengar rose next to him, tongue out as he drooled at the sight of the city, another similar orb pierced into the Ghost's tongue.

"Soon the time will be upon us," the man whispered, grinning behind his hood. "This city will be ours for the taking. It will be perfect for you, All-Powerful One."

...

Covered by the shadows of branches and leaves, the hands on the engraved clock moved. Only to those who could feel it, they sensed the change as the hands struck 13.

**... Toodles**


	41. Chapter 40: Values of a Trainer

_ "Where's the Water starter?"_

I didn't know where I was.

_"Well, we have him, but I don't think you two would want him."_

I felt empty.

_A Froakie appeared on the table. However, it wasn't a normal Froakie. His yellow eyes were paler than regular Froakie eyes and his blue skin was so pale. He also didn't look happy. More depressed actually._

I tried not to think.

_"What's wrong with him?"_

"Stop," I pleaded quietly.

_Froakie seemed to look more sad after hearing that, but I'm pretty sure I was the only one to notice._

"Please," tears pooled beneath my eyes, falling down the side of my face. "Please stop."

I was lying on the ground, eyes staring up at the night sky. Stars twinkled above me, the moon providing a dim glow on the field I was laying in.

"Why did I push him?" I gritted my teeth, the salty taste of my own tears in my throat. "I already knew he was going to die, so why did I push him?"

Fresh tears welled up, refusing to be pushed back.

"All of you," I thought of my Pokemon. "I failed all of you. The way I was behaving after the battle with Alain, why did I let his words get to me!?"

I felt the wind pick up and a sweet scent came with it. I blinked. The stars were moving. Tiny little dots of light, floating around, dancing in the sky. Then they began to come closer, down to Earth.

I sat up, blinking away tears. I was still in Laverre City, but it was different. The sky was turning a hue of black, pink, and purple. It was a soothing combination. Strange colorful flowers were growing rapidly all around me across the field of grass, their scent alluring. A thrumming sensation was coursing through me, a total of 13 times. I felt my head turn to look at the huge tree, not that far away, and at the clock carved into it. Both hands had stopped at the number 13 and weren't moving.

I began hearing strange cries around me and I looked to see different kinds of Fairy type Pokemon coming out to play. Spritzee flew over my head, a Florges to my left, creating flowers for the Flabebe around her. There were even a couple I didn't recognize, one of them who looked like a witch who was staring at me from afar.

I stood, the amazing sight before me temporarily distracting me from my grief. Route 14 was known for it's swamp and creepy bare trees, but now it was alive. Fall leaves decorated the limbs and the water glistened with lights even this far away.

"What is this?" I breathed.

"Ah," a sweet voice spoke. "So you're here as well."

I turned around to see a woman in a pink kimono-dress sitting among the flowers, letting a Ralts, Snubbull, and a Pokemon that looked like a Ponyta, but not on fire, play around her.

"Aren't they just the sweetest," Valerie gave a small laugh of joy, deep eyes twinkling. "Fairies are just truly the cutest."

The Snubbull gave short barks at Valerie and the Fairy gym leader responded in kind. The Snubbull seemed happy at the response she gave and ran off.

"You can speak to Pokemon?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Only Fairies," Valerie swept up the Ralts on her large sleeves and brought their heads together, both touching each other gently. "For as long as I have been alive, I have been able to understand them. They have always been by my side, always caring for me, and in turn, I cared for them."

She set the Ralts down and stood, her eyes seeming like she was staring into my soul. However, they felt kind. She moved past me, her walk barely disturbing the flowers as they bowed away as she passed.

"We are experiencing what many call the Witching Hour," she spoke as I followed her, careful not to step on a Pokemon whenever they ran past. "However, that is a term too crude for a place and time like this. This," she swept out her arms, sleeves swaying in the wind. "Is the time when the human realm and the Fairy realm touch. Only those who are attuned to their call can be here, or those who are called forth. Here, the relationship with Pokemon is heightened to a level where it can be physically present."

She stopped and looked back at me when she said that last part.

"Why," I cast my eyes down. "Why am I here?"

She came closer and lifted my face a little higher with her sleeves and I could feel her hands through the soft fabric. "You are full of chaos, your inner demons have been allowed to roam about within you. You have tried so hard, only to fall deeper into despair. Your bond with your Pokemon has been stretched too thin and snapped."

Images of Lucario and Frogadier flashed through my mind and I struggled to hold back tears.

"Let me see them," Valerie whispered.

She stepped back as I reached and grabbed one of my pokeballs. Opening it, Arcanine came out. He shook himself and looked around. He then looked at me.

"Close you eyes," Valerie advised. "Feel your bond with him."

I did as she instructed and I felt warmth. A deep bond, one forged a while back. Memories of feeding a sick Growlithe mushed berries I had foraged in a cave surfaced. He managed to bring a light of happiness into my life, one I never knew I needed.

"You and I," I touched the side of his face with one hand, stroking his fur. "We've been through so much in such a short period of time."

"Your bond is strong," Valerie smiled. "But can that be said for all your Pokemon?"

I let the rest of them out, Corvisquire squawking and flapping his wings. Lucario looked worried, not able to meet my gaze. Mawile glared at me and turned away, her back jaw snapping shut firmly.

Unlike Arcanine, I felt vague bonds with them. Corvisquire was a gift and he may not have been wanting to be given away. Lucario still had trouble keeping his aura maintained and probably felt responsible whenever he lost control. Mawile only came with me because we both had the same goal of stopping those who were evil. Yet I had called her out to battle against Valerie earlier and didn't even try to understand her during the fight.

I fell to my knees. I had been so focused on the threats plaguing Kalos and on Frogadier's looming death, that I had failed to try and see what was going on with each Pokemon that was journeying with me. My attention was almost always focused towards Frogadier, wishing to heal him despite knowing it was impossible.

I slammed my fist on the ground, surprising my Pokemon. "I'm a sorry excuse for a trainer!"

I looked up at them. "I never payed attention to each of your feelings like I should have. I struggled to change an unchangeable future, not caring how it affected each of you. And in the end, Frogadier still..."

I choked up. Arcanine bowed his head, as did the rest of my Pokemon. Mawile still wouldn't look at me, but I could tell his death affected her.

"What's done is done," I said regrettably. "And I have no right to be your trainer. No right to call you a friend. Every value that makes one a good trainer, I didn't embody that, not in the slightest!"

"All I can do," I felt tears stream down my face once more. "Is ask of your forgiveness. I know I don't deserve it one bit, but without any of you, I don't think I could be strong enough to face the Cult, or any other evil out there."

Arcanine snorted, a flicker of flame curling past his maw. Then he stepped forwards and lowered his massive head. He nudged his pokeball and he was sucked back inside of it. Corvisquire stood taller and met my eyes with beady ones. Within them, I felt pride and a sense of loyalty. But there was more than that. He felt happy. Happy to be with me. He walked forwards and jabbed his pokeball with his beak, returning into it.

I looked to Lucario. He stood and breathed in. Then he let loose a howl, one that could be heard throughout the city. He let out a breath and grinned at me, holding out his paw.

I reached out my own hand, grasping his as he pulled me up. I smiled, feeling a tear drop where we grasped each other, his aura connecting to me, solidifying our bond. "Thank you. Let's work together so we can master Mega Evolution. We'll show Alain just how powerful our bond is next time around."

He growled in agreement, kicking up his pokeball and punching it, letting himself be sucked into it.

Finally, it was Mawile's turn.

"Mawile," I said gently, kneeling. She still wouldn't look at me.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "Especially to you. I used you in that last battle, thinking of you more as a tool to win instead of a living being. And because of that, we didn't win, much less get a single hit in."

"I won't blame you if you just want to walk away," I closed my eyes, already knowing what was to come. "But please, find it in your heart to forgive me."

A second passed. Then another. Then, I felt it. It was weak, but I felt a new bond form to replace the one that had broke. I opened my eyes to see Mawile staring at me, hand resting on my own.

"So you'll give me another chance?" I whispered.

Mawile closed her eyes, then reopened them, determination blazing in them. She nodded and I sobbed with joy. "Thank you. Thank you."

Wiping away my tears, I held out her pokeball. "I'll never use you like that ever again. Together, let us work to bring justice to those seeking Kalos harm. Let me prove myself to you who I really am."

Mawile smiled and touched the pokeball gently. Once sucked inside, I felt my bonds with my Pokemon forge new ones and become whole. While not all of them may be strong, we could work our way to it, together. But there was still something missing. A feeling like there was supposed to be something there, but it wasn't.

"Zeno," Valerie spoke softly, reminding me that she was still there. "Rise."

Slowly, I stood. The Fairy woman smiled an beckoned me to go with her. Clipping each pokeball to my belt securely, I followed after her. The field of grass seemed endless now, Fairy Pokemon playing around us, little lights of many colors twirling around us. Then Valerie stopped. Ahead of us was a bed of flowers, all aqua blue. And lying in the center was Frogadier.

I hurried past Valerie who stayed where she was and dropped to my knees. "Frogadier."

He looked so peaceful, as if he were asleep.

"Remember the words I said to you when we first met," I stroked his head, letting tears come slowly. "_I'll take him_. I knew what was going to happen to you eventually, but I didn't care. All I could see was a lonely Frogadier who wanted to live a life just like any other Pokemon."

"So I gave that to you," I smiled, thinking of the memories. "You were my first Pokemon here in Kalos you know. You looked so happy that you could go with me on my journey. I don't regret that decision for a moment. Through thick and thin, we traveled and fought together. Almost every gym badge so far was earned with your help. I saw you imitate me, using the move Cut like I did. I remember you practicing even before you could use that attack."

"I..." I gripped both fist. "Your fate was always there, looming over me like a shadow! But, I still wanted you to battle, to make friends, enjoy your life as much as you could! I wanted you to live!"

I started choking up. "I-I thought if I could do j-just that, you would be happy! And maybe... maybe if I could push you to get stronger, you would! If you could evolve, I believed you would get healthier! If I could do just that, maybe... just maybe! Maybe you would survive!"

"I'm sorry," I cried, holding his body against me.. "I'm so sorry! I pushed you too far! I was too much of a coward to let fate play out as it should!"

"Our bond," I sobbed. "It was strong! No matter what, I felt we could do anything! I didn't want to lose you! Frogadier!"

A soft feeling. I could feel a presence before me, a kind one. I could feel the gentle feeling of life swirl around me. I opened my eyes to a find myself somewhere new. An endless field of orange, red, purple, and blue flowers. Standing tall before me was an ancient looking tree, smaller than the one in Laverre. This one was white and old looking, with long craggily branches.

_"To fight against the tide of chaos,"_ a voice rang out from the tree, humming with the power of life. _"To ensure the survival of Kalos, only the strongest of bonds can overcome the darkness ahead."_

The tree began glowing, shaking as cracks formed on the white trunk. _"Hero Born of Darkness, Savior of Alola, please, help Kalos in our time of need."_

With a flash of multi-colored lights, the tree exploded, filling the area with light. A large shape moved, bending down. I saw beautiful branches of different colors, glowing and emitting the very essence of life. I could feel the thrum of energy. It grew to a steady beat. I felt a twitch and his hold tightened, if only softly.

I leaned back. "Frogadier!"

I could feel it filling the empty spot.

"Please," I was breathing hard, pouring all of my hope through my tears. "PLEASE! LIVE!"

Frogadier's chest shot up, arching his back as he breathed. His eyes shot open and I cried with joy. I hugged him, crying for all it was worth. Finally, I lay him back down on the bed of blue flowers.

"Fro," he said, sounding a bit weak, but within him, I felt something strong. A bond that had formed between us when we had first met, one that could never break.

Suddenly, the scenery around us flickered, switching between this beautiful world to one on fire, people and Pokemon running from cloaked figures, the symbol of chaos on their hoods.

"What's happening!?" I shot up, but then the switching stopped and we were back in the world of fairies.

Valerie's gaze had hardened slightly. "This isn't good. We need to leave as soon as possible."

"Frogadier," I saw him trying to sit up, but I stopped him. "You can't. I don't know exactly what's happened to you, how you're alive, but I can endanger you in this weak state."

"Fro," Frogadier protested, clenching his eyes shut. I felt his desire to fight, to help those in need. It grew stronger and stronger, our bond increasing in power, a humming sensation coursing through my body.

"Fro... FRO!" Frogadier shouted, his body exploding with light, blasting me back a couple feet.

"Frogadier!" I yelled, eyes wide as he stood, still shouting as the light intensified.

...

The one leading the Cult grinned at the sight before him. The fields were aflame, houses burning, and blood soaking the earth. The ones who survived the initial attack had fled to the main city, trainers and their Pokemon holding the Cult back.

He held the skull high above him in the palm of his hand, roaring with laughter. "Oh how wondrous a sight this is! These beautiful sacrifices shall taint this land full of power and give us what we desire! All in your name! Chaos!"

He could feel the power within this land being changed, forced to become something evil. It would be one of the last ingredients needed to bring Chaos back. Then, something changed. The presence of a new energy.

The man turned around, his Gengar immediately appearing next to him. There, near that huge tree where the clock now showed the hands past 13, a column of water rose into the sky, a powerful energy rippling through the air. And within the raging torrent, a pair of eyes flashed red.

**Guess who's coming! Next up is the chapter that marks the official halfway point. Prepare yourselves. Time for an epic mid-season finale! Toodles!**


	42. Chapter 41: The Power of Their Bonds

**Grab your popcorn folks, 'cause you're in for a long one today. Prepare yourselves for an epic chapter like no other! Just over 5000 words of awesomeness! This will mark the end of the first half of LDOC, so I made sure to make it a wild ride. Read on and comment your reactions if you want to. See you at the Author's Note at the bottom!**

_"I'll take him."_

I watched wide-eyed as the glow of light began transforming.

_"I said, I'll take him."_

A cyclone of water swirling around and around in a column that reached high up into the night sky as the 13th hour came to a close.

_"You and I Froakie, we'll beat the gyms and the Pokemon League. Together."_

A single tear dripped down my cheek, falling on the grass, as a shape within the torrent of water turned to look at me. Red eyes flashed within and I felt a sudden surge of energy within me, connecting to him. Our bond, intensifying to a whole new level of power.

I could see the shadows of the flames behind me, screams in the distant. As I stepped closer to my partner, he did the same. With each step, I felt our connection grow, and then I felt myself walking in two directions, I could see myself walking towards him, from his eyes.

I stood in front of him, our gazes meeting. I nodded and so did he. "Come on, Fro-. I mean," I held out my fist. "Let's go save them, Greninja!"

...

"What is this!?" the man took a step back as the column of water began moving towards him. "What is this!?"

Soon, he saw him. Walking side-by-side the water, was the original sacrifice to Chaos.

"You," the cultist snarled. "Hero Born of Darkness!"

Then, whatever was in the cyclone of water burst forwards, bringing with it the storm.

...

"GRENINJA!" I shouted, moving as he did. We were no longer individuals. We were one, combined through the power of our bond.

The cultist raised the skull in his hand, the orb in its left eye glowing and connecting to the Gengar's tongue to his side. Arms extended from Gengar as he sunk into the ground, spikes jutting out of him. A third eye popped into existence, rolling around until it locked onto cyclone of water heading towards him. The Mega Gengar grinned and let out a metallic roar before charging forwards, thrusting out a shadowy fist. Several ghost fists appeared all around the cyclone, smashing against it.

A shout came from Greninja and the water began expanding, blasting away the fists and Gengar. The Mega leaped back and fired a beam of energy.

"Dodge!" I shouted.

I could see the outline of his body inside, leaping aside, the energy grazing the water.

"GO!" I yelled.

Greninja charged forwards, slamming the torrent of water against Gengar, blasting the Ghost type away.

"Don't let up!" The cultist roared with anger. "We will kill you both here!"

I stepped forwards. "Go ahead and try! We've both been there, but we both managed to come back! So bring it on!"

Greninja yelled in sync with me, the cyclone growing in intensity. Then it exploded outwards, before being sucked back towards Greninja, forming a black cloak around him. He shot forwards, throwing Water Shurikens, each one knocking Gengar back several steps.

Greninja leaped back through the air, landing in front of me, hand in front of his face, striking the pose of a ninja. His body was a sleek black and his tongue that wrapped around his neck a deep red. On both his knees and elbows there were white patches and on each leg a Water Shuriken had already formed, larger than regular ones. Attached to his legs closer to his feet were two glowing blades with two more on both arms. A black cloak hung down over him, a hood over his head. He glanced at me, red eyes flashing in the darkness.

"Greninja," I breathed, seeing him in this form reminded me of myself. I hardened my gaze and looked towards the cultist and his Gengar. "Let's show them the power of our bond!"

"Greninj," Greninja agreed, crouching low.

We ran as one, our spirits connected. Greninja grabbed both shurikens on his legs and flung both of them with opposite arms. They exploded in Gengar's face, allowing Greninja to get in close, slamming his glowing fist upwards. He twirled his body around, slamming a glowing foot in Mega Gengar's face.

With a yell, I swung my leg at the same time as Greninja, dealing a blow against the cultist's side. He roared in pain, his hood flipping back. He was young, probably barely past 20. With wild blonde hair and a snarl on his face.

"You," he spat, eyes wide. "You dare oppose the great Chaos!? The All-Powerful One!? Know your place!"

He charged forward, brandishing a knife. I side-stepped, feeling Greninja do the same as Gengar fired an attack.

_"Together,"_ we both thought as one. _"Together we can beat them! As One!"_

I whipped out my knife as Greninja grabbed his from his leg, the glowing blade turning into a dark black. We swung at the same time, my blade grazing the cultist's arm and Greninja's making the Gengar roar in pain. We both raised our arms, blocking an incoming strike. A kick surprised us both, slamming us both onto our backs. We both gasped in pain, but as quickly as we had fallen, we were back on our feet.

I threw my blade, the edge grazing the cultist's cheek, and I jumped forwards, slamming a blow into Gengar's third eye. I kept up the assault, knocking the blade and his skull out his hand, then blasted the Ghost type with Water Shurikens. I ducked beneath the incoming Shadow Punches, driving a fist home in the guy's stomach. He gasped as Gengar roared in pain. I drove a fist up, slamming Gengar in the chin. I spun around, slamming my foot against the man's face, driving the Gengar into the dirt.

The cultist didn't get back up and his Gengar reverted out of his Mega Form. I took a step back, our chests rising and falling. A sharp pain shot through my body, causing me to fall to my knees, fingers sinking into the dirt. I looked at Greninja who was doing the same, his black cloak gone. Now he was just a regular shiny black Greninja, his extra weapons missing. During that battle, we had truly become one. My actions were his, his attacks mine. But whatever we had just did, we had reached a limit.

"It's like," I grasped my shirt. "It's like we can only expend as much energy as the other can. Or something similar. Maybe my energy becomes yours..."

"Syl!" a Pokemon cried. I turned to see Valerie's Sylveon wrapping her feelers around the cultist and his Gengar. The Fairy type shouted at me and turned her head towards the main city. The message was clear.

"Get up," I groaned, picking myself up. "Our job isn't done yet."

"Gren," Greninja agreed.

"Arcanine," I let him out. He saw the flames ahead of us and growled. After picking up my knife and stomping my foot through the skull the man was carrying and taking the Keystone, I climbed atop Arcanine. "Let's go!"

He ran, stray sparks of fire flying off of him as he ignored the path and took the straight shot to the city. Greninja ran alongside us, his hands behind him as his feet were a blur.

My thoughts flashed to Alex and Robert and I tightened my grip on Arcanine's fur. "Please be alright."

...

"Pyroar!" Alex shouted and the Fire type shot a Flamethrower that forced the Dusknoir to back away. However, he simply came back with a fist surging with electricity.

A blast of pink energy hit the Ghost type in the back, sending him crashing into the river behind Alex.

"Valerie!" Robert exclaimed as the Gym Leader walked on the street, an Aromatisse by her side.

The usual serene-faced woman had an expression of rage. "Hear me!"

The battles going on around them all ceased, trainers, cultists, and Pokemon alike turning to look who had spoken.

"This is a peaceful land of fairies," she spread her arms wide. "One where humans and Pokemon are allowed to live in this blessed land."

"Don't think they'll allow you to run rampant, tainting their land with the blood of innocents," Her eyes glowed pink and her face became calmer. "I call upon the blessing of Xerneas, Mistress of Life, save the city you have blessed!"

All around her, the air seemed to warp. No, all around the city. Fairy type Pokemon began appearing, all with a pink aura around them. The ground and surrounding air became misty, the Pokemon defending against the Cult of Chaos becoming healed, stronger.

"Floette," Alex said as her Pokemon popped out of her pokeball and absorbed the mist. She began glowing, growing taller, beautiful orange flowers with a wonderful fragrant growing around her head. The newly evolved Florges gave a cry, a mystic aura surrounding her.

"Go, my Fairies!" Valerie cried as the Pokemon charged the enemy. "Defeat the Cult who dares defy the Mistress of Life!"

...

"Flare Blitz!"

I leaped off Arcanine as he shot forwards at high speeds down the street, my fall stopped as Greninja leaped and caught me. The Fire type barreled down the Dusknoir, an explosion of flames resulting from the impact.

As Greninja set me down on the road just inside the city, I could feel the mist swirl around me. "What is this?"

I didn't have time to ponder about that for long when a Barbaracle flew by in front of me and slammed into a building.

"Dammit!" a familiar voice yelled.

I turned my head to see Clara being pushed back down an adjacent street, several cultists and their Ghost types hammering at her Scizor, who already looked weak.

"Arcanine!" I shouted and he came running back. "Flame Wheel!"

He jumped and curled into a wheel of flames, twisting midair and shooting down the street. He zoomed past Clara and Scizor, scattering a Chandelure and Banette, but slamming into a Trevenant.

"Zeno!?" Clara turned sharply. "Figures."

"Don't mind my help now?" I asked, but I already knew the answer. Clara had some bruises and small cuts on her body already. Apparently she decided to take the cultists on hand-to-hand.

Clara smirked. "What, done with your breakdown? I saw that gym battle. You sure you should be out here battling?"

"I'm sure," I took a step forwards. "I've come to realize something important, something I've been taking for granted."

I took a deep breath, an action mimicked by Greninja who stood beside me. "The bond we share with our Pokemon, it must be on equal terms. It can never be one-sided and once broken, it must be reforged."

I turned my head to look at Clara, grinning. "And that's when you reach a whole new level of friendship."

"It's you!" a voice cried and I looked back to see the cultist with dreadlocks, the one I had battled back in Lumiose. "Don't think you can run now! You will die here!"

"If your guy with the skull couldn't," I help up the Keystone I had took and the three cultists in front of me gasped. "Then you can't even dream of it."

"You dare take that!?" Dreadlocks screams. "A gift given by Chaos herself!? You must be punished!"

He brandished a skeleton hand, clutched around a Keystone. "Hear the Chaos! Hear the screams! Fuel your demons and Mega Evolve!"

His Banette glowed and the zippers began unzipping, ghostly purple claws and feet shot out.

Arcanine had returned to my side, but I let out Lucario to handle this.

"Let our trust never wane," I held up my knife, my thumb pressed up against my Keystone and ribbons of light wrapped around me and Lucario, the aura rising around him. "And our bond never break as we overcome the chaos! Our fighting spirit will never be crushed! Mega Evolve!"

Lucario howled as he mega evolved, his aura rising. Reaching out, I tried to feel that connection I could feel back in that land of fairies. I could feel our bond, his aura. And together, with the strength of both our spirits, we suppressed it.

Lucario raised an arm, Banette's claws bouncing off.

"Aura!" I shouted.

Lucario flicked his paw, a wind of aura blasting Banette away. Chandelure appeared, blasting a Flamethrower at him.

"Dodge!" I commanded.

Lucario disappeared, only to reappear above the Chandelure.

"Bone Rush!"

With a heavy slam, dust rose from the crater Chandelure was now in. Suddenly, vines broke through the concrete, rising above Lucario and slamming down over him.

"Lucario!" I yelled. With a howl, he broke through, jumping through the air, his gaze focused on the badly burned Trevenant Arcanine failed to fully take down. The Fighting type gritted his teeth and swung his body forwards, right foot set ablaze. Fire arced through the air as Lucario slammed his foot down on Trevenant, a blaze of fire blasting from the impact. Lucario leaped back, stomping a burned foot on the ground, mouth set in a grimace.

I smiled. "Guess we still need to work on that move."

"NO!" Dreadlocks screeched, backing up as he stared at the fallen Pokemon, Arcanine and Greninja finishing up his Mega Banette, his two cultist buddies following suit. "THIS CAN'T BE!"

Scizor appeared behind them, slamming his metal claws on their heads, knocking them out.

"No getting away this time," Clara smirked, taking a confident step forwards, then stumbling.

"Woah," I caught her before she fell, but she pushed me away.

"Get off," she growled. "I'm fine."

"You're not," I shook my head. "You're exhausted."

"I can't stop," Clara gritted her teeth. "Not until they all pay! I have to stop them all!"

"Looks who's having a breakdown now," I said softly and Clara turned her head sharply, glaring at me. "I will say this again."

I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for having dragged you into this whole mess. I know you're unlikely to forgive me, but I wish you would give me a chance to make up for what I've done."

I stood and dropped the Keystone I had took from the cultist. "Take it. I don't need it."

I went to walk away, but said, "Misfortune follows me wherever I go, that's what you said, right?"

I looked at her and smiled. "I like to think of it as me being brought to places I'm needed in order to prevent further misfortune. I mean, you can't defeat people like this all by yourself."

I began running, my Pokemon beside me as I left Clara behind with her thoughts.

...

"Damn it," Clara groaned as she picked herself up and stared at Zeno turning a corner, disappearing out of sight. "You never give up on others, do you."

She looked at her Scizor. "Make sure those cultists don't wake up. Keep hitting them if you have to."

Scizor nodded and she went over to return her Barbaracle to his pokeball. When she walked back over to Scizor, she sat against the side of a building, staring at the Keystone Zeno gave her.

_"The bond we share with our Pokemon, it must be on equal terms. It can never be one-sided and once broken, it must be reforged."_

_"I like to think of it as me being brought to places I'm needed in order to prevent further misfortune. I mean, you can't defeat people like this all by yourself."_

Clara leaned her head back and sighed. "How can you be like that to me, even after all I've done?"

...

I followed the mist, going to where it was the thickest. Soon, I had reached the river, where the trainers in Laverre City were pushing back the Cult. A cultist was slammed to the ground by a teen wearing a blue scarf, his Mega Charizard blasting back a Chandelure with draconic energy. A purple orb rolled to my feet, which was probably in the grasp of the cultist moments earlier. Raising my foot, I smashed it, purple smoke rising and disappearing from within.

"Zeno," Alain said, standing.

Before anything else could be said, the wind picked up. Purple energy was being sucked from the surrounding area, clearing the mist. It all converged on a single cultist who held an orb high above him, gathering the chaotic energy.

"_Az Grothar Nith_!" the cultist yelled and tendrils of energy lashed out from the orb, tightening around a nearby Dusknoir. It grew larger and larger, the mouth on its stomach widening as the yellow eyes turned dark. A crown formed around its head and the long nail lifted out of its head.

"That things larger than the buildings!" Alain exclaimed, shocked.

I grimaced, remembering the last battle I had against the same kind of monster. We only won due to Lucario going out of control and unleashing all of his aura. I looked at Lucario and knew that doing the same thing would ruin all the progress we've made so far.

"Moonblast! Fire Blast!"

The moves exploded against the giant monstrosity, Alex having commanded her Florges and Pyroar, the former probably having evolved earlier. Valerie and Robert were there as well, other trainers too busy with the remaining cultists to deal with this new problem.

"Charizard," Alain shouted. "Dragon Pulse!"

"Arcanine!" I yelled. "Lucario, Greninja! GO!"

Arcanine blew a blast of flames at the Ghost type, Lucario firing a metallic beam from his hands, and Greninja shooting several Water Shurikens. The combined attacks exploded against the Dusknoir, causing him to roar in anger. The giant nail floating above him multiplied and all five slammed into the earth in front of him, a shock wave rippling through the ground, ripping up the concrete. The river nearby surged upwards, dousing many in water.

"Dragon Claw!" Alain roared.

Dusknoir's one eye gleamed crimson as its stomach-mouth opened wider, unleashing a dark energy. It slammed into Charizard, slamming him into a building, a dust cloud rising. Alain's hand shot to his heart and his Keystone glowed. His Charizard was no longer able to help us fight.

Lucario stepped forward to engage Dusknoir, but he fell to one knee, his Mega Form disappearing. Our time had run out. Then, Dusknoir focused its attention on us. It raised a fist crackling with electricity and slammed it to the ground. I heard Arcanine bark at Greninja before rushing forwards with Lucario, blasting a Heat Wave and Flash Cannon. I felt myself get picked up by my Greninja as well as grabbing Alain and he jumped as the incoming electricity blasted through the Heat Wave and blasted Arcanine and Lucario back, who both tried to stop the attack. Greninja dropped us on the ground and I looked to see that Arcanine and Lucario had been sent down the street near Alex, Robert, and Valerie.

"Zeno!" I heard Alex yell, but I couldn't respond right now. Then Dusknoir turned to look at my two friends and the Fairy gym leader and their Pokemon.

"No," I reached out a hand, slamming it onto the cracked pavement as I hauled myself up to my feet. "NO!"

Something within me spiked and I felt a connection form. I wanted to run, to help, but I couldn't, not as a human. So Greninja did it for me.

"Save them!" I shouted as he ran. "Greninja!"

A cyclone of water surged into existence around him as he put himself between our friends and Dusknoir. A blast of electricity was drawn into the water, causing both Greninja and I to shout in pain, driving me to my knee.

_"No,"_ I thought. _"This won't be enough to defeat us! Not when the lives of our friends are at stake!"_

Greninja shouted with my thoughts, the cyclone of water bursting outwards, then drawn back in to form the black cloak around him. Large Water Shurikens formed on his upper legs and the blades on his arms and lower legs. He dropped to the ground, running low to the ground as he fired his extra large Water Shurikens. They zoomed up through the air, slamming into Dusknoir's head. The large nail flew through the air, heading straight for Greninja.

Suddenly, I was seeing through my Pokemon's eyes. There was no time to dodge. Only one thing left to do.

_"Drive it into the ground!"_

Greninja grabbed both the blades on his legs, extending and turning black as they were released, and drove them down in an X-motion. They slammed into the tip of the giant nail, driving it into the ground, the earth exploding with dust and concrete as Greninja was pushed backwards, slowing the movement of the nail.

_"Into the air to dodge."_

I could feel, hear, and sense whatever Greninja could. Our minds had connected on a level deeper than my bond with Mega Lucario. I could issue commands in my head and Greninja would act upon them not even a second later.

Greninja leaped into the air as a wave of dark energy blasted forwards. As Dusknoir swung a fist wrapped in shadows, Greninja forced the fist to move down with a burst of psychic energy. He landed on the fist and began running up Dusknoir's arm, tossing shuriken after shuriken. The Ghost type's single eye glowed black as a wave of ghostly energy struck Greninja and he began to fall.

I could feel the pain throughout me, my body now feeling weightless.

_"C'mon,"_ I closed my eyes, seeing a calm body of water in the darkness. _"A single drop is all we need to create ripples."_

Greninja shouted, the river exploding beneath him, surging upwards. Greninja landed on all fours on the rising water, shooting upwards. He leaped off of it, directing his webbed-hand at Dusknoir, the water obeying his command. It thundered against Dusknoir, forcing the Ghost to the ground. It began picking itself up, pressing both giant hands against the ground.

_"Don't let up."_

Greninja tugged off his cloak, tossing it down and it exploded with a torrent of water, Dusknoir roaring. Without his cloak on, I could now see that Greninja still looked different than normal. The fins around his head were sharper and angled more for slashing and on his back was a single shuriken. It expanded into a giant X, brimming with energy.

_"Now end this!"_

Greninja dived towards Dusknoir, the two blades on his arms shooting into his hands. He tossed them down and they landed on either side of the Ghost's face, exploding and unleashing a dark wind. Greninja shouted, grabbing hold of his giant X-Shuriken with both hands and slamming it down on the back of Dusknoir's head. It burst with a wave of water and energy and Dusknoir collapsed on the ground, growing smaller as purple chaotic energy was released from him.

I fell to both knees, suddenly realizing I was drenched in sweat. Greninja's bond form disappeared and he fell to both knees like me next to the fainted regular-sized Dusknoir. As Greninja fell forwards, blacking out, I did the same. Our exhausted bodies were shutting down, so all we could do was hope that the rest of the mess could be taken care of without us.

...

When I woke up in the Laverre City hospital, I was greeted by hugs from both Alex and Robert alike. Apparently I had been out for a whole 24 hours. The International Police had acted when they heard the news and reached Laverre near the climax of the battle. They arrested around three dozen Cult members, including the blonde guy I had fought at the beginning and Dreadlocks. There was another, but I was told it wasn't Sebastian. That meant there were still Cult members out there, plotting their next move. And the death toll...

I groaned as I got out of the hospital bed, Greninja doing the same on the bed near mine.

"You sure you're fine," Alex asked, concerned.

"Yeah," I smiled, and Greninja being stronger than me, caught me when I almost fell over.

"So," Robert pointed at Greninja. "Is that..."

I nodded as I put an arm around Greninja's neck to support myself, trying to ignore the sliminess of his tongue. "Yeah. I'll have to explain later. I don't even fully know how it happened."

I remembered that voice, asking for my help. The ancient white tree exploding with light.

"It was Xerneas," Valerie said, standing in the doorway of the hospital room. "She was the one who breathed life back into your Greninja."

She stepped softly into the room as if walking on air and held out her large sleeve to us. "To the three of you, for helping to protect their city."

On her sleeve were three shiny badges in the shape of fairy wings, decorated with gold and two shades of pink.

"Normally one would have to win a battle against a gym leader to receive one," she spoke. "But they can also be given to those deemed worthy by their actions. I only ask that you listen to Xerneas' pleas. She knew that you and that unique Greninja of yours would be needed one day for Kalos' future, so I will ask this of you three as well. Please, help save Kalos, just like you did for Laverre."

I grasped the gym badge. "Of course. We've come this far, so we won't back down now. Not when the people of Kalos need our help."

"Always," Alex nodded, then shuddered. "I saw many people die today. I don't want that to happen ever again."

"Same here," Robert took the badge, though I knew he took it more for a symbol of what had happened. "I will do what I do best to help Kalos."

"Good," Valerie said, smiling happily, eyes twinkling. "I know Xerneas will be happy as well."

"Who is Xerneas?" I asked.

"The Mistress of Life," Valerie said. "The Legendary Pokemon who protects all life in Kalos. Head to Dendemille Town. There seek the elderly woman in the northernmost part of the town. She'll be able to tell you more of Xerneas and of Yveltal as well."

She turned to leave and I had a feeling I wouldn't get anymore information. But, "Valerie, I have a favor to ask."

She turned her head and I asked, "Could you find a girl by the name of Clara Acord? She helped out in the battle as well."

The Fairy-like woman nodded. "Of course."

With that, she left.

I sighed, and now able to stand and walk by myself, I went over to the window overlooking the damaged Laverre City. "Everywhere the Cult strikes, disaster falls. And they're still out there, probably plotting their next move."

"If they're smart they'll stay hidden for a while," Robert said wisely. "But it's not just them. Don't forget about Team Flare."

"Right, that," Alex shook her head. "Apparently during the day when you had your battle with Alain and Valerie, Team Flare raided the Pokeball Factory. Stole pokeballs, precious data, and around a million dollars."

I groaned. "This isn't making me feel better you know. We even have Eve and her Team Radiance out there doing who knows what."

I heard loud running from out in the hall and I turned to see Jessie blasting into the room.

"ZENO!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT!? ARE YOU HURT!?"

"Fine," I managed to gasp under the pressure of her hug. "I'm fine."

"Let the kid breathe," James hit Jessie on the head and pulled her back. "How are you holding up kiddo?"

"Just fine," I wheezed, air now allowed back into my lungs. "Got banged up a little, but I can hold my own."

"As expected," James nodded and Jessie hugged me again, this time not as hard.

"Where's Meowth?" I asked, not seeing him completing the trio.

"He and Preston are looking after the house while we're away," Jessie said, stepping back.

"Oh, right," I remembered. "How is Preston doing."

"Adjusting still," Jessie laughed. "Should've seen the way he reacted when he saw us open the door."

"Priceless," James chuckled. "But he'll be fine. At least he doesn't have to deal with Jessie being there trying to cook something."

"Why you-!" Jessie began strangling him and my friends and I laughed.

I looked at Greninja and I could feel the connection between us there, waiting to be released.

"Now," I smiled and grasped his hand. "I can finally keep my promise to you. Once we get the last two gym badges, we can enter the Pokemon League. And we'll win for sure with the power of our amazing bond."

"Greninj," he agreed.

In that moment, I knew we could do it. We could do anything. Out there was evil, lurking in the shadows. But we won't back down and certainly won't let them win. Whatever was out there, we would all face it together.

I narrowed my eyes. _"I'm coming for you, Chaos."_

**AND WE'VE REACHED THE MIDDLE OF LDOC! WOO-HOO! What an epic midseason finale chapter this was. Super long too, probably my longest ever. Man, I just went four days in a row, uploading a chapter on each day. Man was I hyped to write this, been waiting to write about Zeno's Greninja for the longest time now, probably for a couple years at this point, that was before I even began writing HBoD! I hope you all enjoyed this climatic chapter and further hope that you look forward to the next half of LDOC, where there will be another 41 chapters. A lot to do, but I'm up for the challenge if you all are as well! Let me know what you all thought of what I've wrote and I'll see you guys next update. Toodles!**


	43. Author's Note, Midway Summary, etc

**Just like in HBoD, here we have a midway summary and something at the end. But first, to the author's note. LDOC has officially reached it's halfway point! Man, so far this has been a blast to write. Especially in the last couple chapters before this. While I may have switched some things up right before starting on those chapters, I think it was for the better because it all turned out amazing. Believe it or not, Frogadier wasn't supposed to evolve yet. I had something a tiny bit different planned, but the story kinda led me write it this way, but hey, I'm not complaining here. Anyway, enough of the past and time to look forward to the future of LDOC. Since school isn't giving me a whole lot to do for online school, I have a lot of free time still. I will still be working on TMR2 for fans of that, I will actually start typing up the next part after I get done with this. However, I am seriously considering dropping Pokemon Dark. I'm still keeping it up for potential new readers, but I want to know what you all think. Maybe if it gets more traction I may continue it, but I don't know at this point. But, what I do know is that I have some thanks to give out.** **To past, present, and future readers, thank you once again. I say this a lot, but I still don't think it's enough. It's such a joy knowing there's people out there enjoying my work, so thank you!**

**Anyway, onto the summary for the next half!**

_He made a promise. A promise to give Froakie the life he deserved. Now, Greninja has been given new life and his and Zeno's bond has reached new levels. Seeing his mistakes, Zeno knows he can't afford to lose the precious bond he shares with his Pokémon. Hope has risen within him, bringing with it new clarity._

_Moves are being made and plans unfolding. Team Radiance draws ever closer to their goal as they reach to uncover the secrets of life. And as Team Flare nears the end with their preparations for the Ultimate Weapon, the Cult of Chaos wanders amongst the shadows, their devious deeds unfinished. The past threatens to repeat itself and no one will see it coming until it's too late._

_Time is running out, and Zeno and his friends are more aware of that than anyone else. The deaths of those unable to escape the Cult loom over them like a shadow as they seek to stop those who wish Kalos harm. The end to this journey is far off, but how it will end is hidden behind layers of lies and destruction. Life becomes death, and order becomes chaos. With rivals to face, enemies to stop, and a region to save, Zeno, Alex, and Robert look once more to the uncertain future._

Eve let out a breath, rubbing her arms. She glanced over at her blue haired Technical Officer, Kamake, who was in charge up keeping the machines operating in this frozen cave. While this wasn't her preferred place for a base, Eve knew it would be best to conduct the experiments here, where no one wandered.

"Ma'am," Kamake straightened. "I just finished analyzing the reports."

"And?" Eve prompted.

"It seems," the scientist turned to face her. "The energy Xerneas released was directed towards Laverre City, to a certain trainer."

"Zeno," Eve guessed. "Why him?"

Kamake hit a few keys on her digital notepad and the large screen situated on the cavern wall turned on, showing the battle that had taken place in Laverre. A unique looking Greninja had taken on a what Kamake had called a "Gigantamaxed" Dusknoir and won.

"Look here," Kamake enlarged the screen, focusing on a street. The pixels were blurry, so Kamake ran a scan, clearing it up. There was Zeno.

"So it's his Greninja," Eve raised an eyebrow. "What of it?"

"His Greninja," Kamake shook her head. "When his Greninja was still a Frogadier, it died in the Pokemon Center. Now, the scans read Life particles coming off of Greninja, the kind we only get off of Xerneas."

Eve glanced at the ancient white tree floating in the giant cylinder tank, bubbles floating around it. "So it seems Xerneas gave the little Hero a gift. Should've expected that knowing what he accomplished in Alola."

Eve turned back to Kamake. "Keep doing what you can and make sure you can keep Volcanion alive."

Eve walked up to the smaller tank holding a disfigured human, red hair still visible in the water. She pressed her hand on the glass. "Soon, mother. Soon I will bring you back."

**Toodles**


	44. Chapter 42: Battling for Confidence

"Greninja" I whispered, closing my eyes as I searched for our connection. There, pulsing. Two separate lines of life, side-by-side. They began merging, becoming one. "Connect!"

Greninja and I yelled in unison, a cyclone of water bursting around the Water and Dark type. Immediately I felt my body strain, beads of sweat already forming on my forehead. Now that we weren't in a life or death situation, the same adrenaline that had let me do this twice with Greninja back in Laverre City wasn't there, so now I was finding out there were limitations to this power.

I clenched my teeth. "Embrace the night! Full Sync!"

The water cyclone shattered, then formed back together to form Greninja's new form, wearing a cloak that reminded me of my trench coat. I sighed, wiping the sweat of my head. It felt a little easier on the both of us in this form, now that the energy wasn't just circling out of control around him.

"And there it is," Robert was grinning, clapping his hands. "The Kage-Shinobi!"

"The what?" I looked back at him and Alex, raising an eyebrow. We were currently camping on the fall-covered Route 15, despite it still being summer. A river ran right by where we had set up camp, all our Pokemon either playing in the shallow river or sitting in the shade of beautiful Fall trees.

"Darkness and ninja," Alex explained, slapping Robert on the back of the head. "I'm actually the one who came up with the name."

She smiled at me. "Darkness being Kage and ninja being Shinobi. Together you and Greninja are the Kage-Shinobi."

I looked back at Greninja, who met my gaze with his red eyes beneath his hood. "How about that then? We're the Kage-Shinobi. A name where we're one."

Greninja croaked happily. I grinned and went over to my Pokemon, lifting his cloak with one hand. It appeared to be made out of tiny black bubbles all stuck together, giving it great mobility.

With a slight pain shooting up my spine, Greninja's cloak and additional weapons dematerialized.

"Geez," I cracked my neck, feeling slightly better. "We need to practice this a lot more if we want to avoid any drawbacks. That is, if we can avoid them at all."

"This is interesting," Robert mused, staring at his pokedex. Actually, to call it a pokedex at this point just didn't cut it. Throughout the journey, Robert's been experimenting with it, adding and taking stuff off. Now there was an additional screen that could pop out and read what I assumed were vitals.

"What?" I asked, Greninja and I coming over.

"Hm?" Robert looked up. "This was you and Greninja's bond levels, which I managed to observe through this."

He pointed at the screen, where two vital signs merged and became one, however, they were slightly off after a few seconds. "I'm certain your bond is fine, it's just the physical difference you have to overcome. Greninja is a Pokemon and you're a human. There might be more to this than I can identify though, so I can't be an expert for you."

"Whatever it is," I grinned. "Me and Greninja will overcome it."

"Gren," my Pokemon agreed, walking towards the river to join Absol, Mawile, and Florges, who were all playing in the water. Greninja leaped in, splashing the water in their faces.

In the middle of the camping area Snorlax was splayed on the ground next to a tree, snoring. Quilladin was rolling around on his stomach freely and Corvisquire watched from his perch on the branch overlooking the two. On the opposite side of the tree Arcanine and Ninetales slept in the sunlight together. Pyroar and Vespiquen were doing a mock battle without any special moves while Lucario sat away from the main group in a crisscross position, eyes closed in meditation.

Robert stood and stretched. "Aaaall right. It's close to noon, so I'll get started on food. I'm thinking curry. Any preferences? I can make several types."

"Spicy," Alex nodded. "As good as you can make it."

"Chicken," I responded, standing. "Not too spicy for me."

"Really?" Alex seemed surprised.

I offered a half-grin. "I don't mind my food being a bit spicy, but I prefer not to have too much."

I headed over to Lucario, but walked along the river to do so. Greninja was showing off in the water by making three small spirals of liquid rise into the air around him, making them dance. Chuckling, I headed towards where Lucario sat beneath a tree, his back to the trunk.

When I sat down in front of him, he cracked one eye open. Seeing me, he closed it again, letting out a breath.

"What's up, Lucario?" I asked.

He opened both eyes, meeting my gaze, then looking at his legs, shifting his right paw.

"Ah," I understood immediately. "We have more control over your aura now, but your still upset that you can't control your Blaze Kick huh?"

Lucario gave a halfhearted grin, then it dropped. He stood and faced the tree. He thrust back his arm and slammed it into the tree. It shook, leaves falling down around us.

"I know your frustrated," I said. "But it isn't good to let it control you like that."

"I've given it a bit of thought before," I said after a minute. "And I still think it's your confidence that isn't allowing you to use Blaze Kick to its full potential." Lucario turned his head slightly to look at me. "Blaze Kick isn't even a move most Riolus and Lucarios can learn, not without a parent being a Blaziken. Because of that I think you need to be fully in control of your emotions."

I leaned back, staring up at the sun through the leaves. "You stole Robert's Holo Caster way back when, remember? That's how we first met, me trying to get you to stop stealing and really see the world. I had to battle you to convince you though."

I grinned at that and Lucario turned back to face me and sat down crisscross again, calmer now. "I don't know what made you like to steal and what life you had before we met, but I think it has to do with your lack of confidence." Lucario cast his eyes down, not looking at me. "I'm on the money then I take it."

I sat forwards, waiting for him to make eye contact again. Once he did, I said, "Don't let your past define who you want to be. Let it be there, serving as an example of what you embrace and what you cast away. I know that more than anyone."

I clapped my hands together, surprising the Fighting type. "I got it!" Standing, I held out my hand and helped him up. "I don't know what difference it'll make, but how about you and Greninja battle again?"

Lucario gave me a questioning look and I grinned. "Look, one of the best ways to overcome something is to connect with it. And your very first battle with me was against Greninja when he was a Froakie. It's only fitting."

Lucario let out a breath and nodded.

"Good," I turned and shouted, "Hey, Greninja! We need you over here!"

Greninja, who was in the middle of tossing Mawile around in the air with his tongue, dropped her in the water and leaped out of the water towards us.

"Alright," I stepped back, letting my two Pokemon face one another. "I want both of you to battle. Lucario needs to work on his kick and with you there's a less chance he'll end up with a bad burn. I also feel like this training would benefit you as well, Greninja. You up for it?"

"Gren," Greninja closed a fist, nodding confidently.

"Look at that," I looked at Lucario. "He's ready to not hold back. What about you?"

Lucario hrred, stepping one foot back and adopting a fighting stance.

"Hey," Alex was coming over with Absol, Mawile, Pyroar, and Vespiquen. "Mind if we watch?"

"Not at all," I nodded, heading closer to her to get out of the way of Greninja and Lucario. "I'll give you two freedom on how you want to fight, but try not to take it too far or push yourself."

They both nodded their heads at me, then focused on each other. Their eyes narrowed and Greninja placed his right webbed foot out to the side, right hand going with it, while Lucario tightened his fists. They didn't move for at least half a minute, then-

A swirl of water collected at the base of Greninja's feet, skyrocketing him towards Lucario. Lucario bent his knees, feet pressing into the earth, then he pushed off the ground, drawing a glowing fist back. At the last second, Greninja shifted the wave to the right, avoiding Lucario's punch and directing the wave into his side. The Fighting type crashed to the ground, but he used his paw to flip onto his feet. He drew both hands back, a sphere of concentrated aura powering up.

Greninja landed back on the ground, some twenty feet from Lucario, a Water Shuriken clutched in his webbed hand. He flipped, the added momentum making the shuriken zoom towards his opponent. Lucario growled, blasting the Aura Sphere. It canceled out the Water Shuriken and slammed into Greninja. The Water type fell to one knee, grimacing. He then slammed his hand on the ground, fissures cracking the ground as they zoomed towards Lucario. The Fighting type glanced around as the cracks surrounded him and he jumped, but it was too late to avoid the attack. Three spirals of water shot upwards, blasting Lucario into the sky.

Greninja ran forwards, leaping as he threw two Water Shurikens. Lucario gritted his teeth as his lower right leg burst into flames. He kicked one of the Shurikens away and dodged the other while midair. He twirled his body, aiming his blazing foot towards the incoming Greninja. The Ninja Pokemon swung his right foot as well, the body part glowing. The two Pokemon clashed, a ripple spreading through the air, and both landed back on the ground. Lucario stomped his foot on the ground, making sure the fire was out. Already having kicked a Water Shuriken, his foot didn't seem to be hurt really.

Lucario raised his gaze, eyes narrowing. He jetted forwards, landing a solid punch into Greninja's middle, sending the Water type skidding along the ground for another thirty feet or so. Lucario shot towards him once more, but Greninja had gotten to his feet, doing the same. They zoomed past one another, Greninja getting flipped onto his back while Lucario skidded to a halt, turning on one foot. He slammed the claws on top of his paws together, a harsh metal ringing directed at Greninja, who held his head at the sound. Seeing the opportunity, Lucario shot an Aura Sphere, the move slamming into Greninja.

Lucario ran for him, kicking up leaves as he ran. He leaped off the ground, angling his body towards the right, swinging his foot, which was now ablaze. Greninja barely had time to create a double of himself, Lucario's foot swinging through the copy like a mirage. He skidded along the ground, fire catching to the leaves. Greninja acted quickly, dousing the fire with a wave of water, in the process knocking Lucario off his feet.

Lucario howled, slamming all four paws on the ground, running forwards on the four limbs against the flow of the water. Greninja formed a blade in his hand, the weapon turning black as he lunged for Lucario. Lucario allowed himself to be slashed in the face, but he quickly leaped and slammed his feet down on Greninja, leaping again from the force of impact. He spun around, fire trailing from his foot. With a deep-throated howl, he slammed his foot against Greninja's back, slamming him into a nearby tree. Leaves shook and fell, Greninja falling to the ground, barely able to stand.

"Lucario's stronger than Greninja," Alex was a but surprised.

"Hmm," Robert was tapping a ladle against his thigh. "Type advantage definitely played a role..."

"Alright," I announced as Lucario made sure to douse his foot in a leftover puddle. "Battle over you two. Great job."

Lucario hobbled over to Greninja, helping him stand firm. I hunkered down, looking at the Fighting type's right foot. "Hey, not bad. Only a little burn this time." I grinned as I stood to face him. "You're getting the hang of this. Though, better have Robert heal it with some burn ointment."

Lucario nodded and I held out my pokeball. "Rest up Greninja. I'll save some food for you later."

"Gren," he croaked, nodding, and I returned him to his pokeball.

"You did amazing Lucario," I praised him, grinning proudly at him. "You're well on your way to mastering that kick of yours."

He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by the praise, but grinning nonetheless.

"That was one hell of a battle!" A voice called out. We all turned to see a woman walking towards us, a smile on her face. Her long black hair hung down to the middle of her back that matched a pair of startling blue eyes and she looked to be in her early twenties. Her black combat boots crunched the leaves beneath her feet and she wore black shorts and a plain black t-shirt.

"Well," she put her hands on her hips. "No one's going to say anything?"

"Um," Alex shook her head. "Sorry, you just look like someone we know."

The woman grinned at that. "So you are the ones Clara mentioned before. This is perfect. I was hoping I'd run into all of you."

I could guess at what her relations to Clara was at this point, but her attitude seemed to be the polar opposite of Clara's.

"I'll cut to the chase," she waved her hand, pointing at us three. "I need all your help. Well, more like Clara does."

"Clara needs our help?" I raised an eyebrow at that. "She's not one to ask for it."

"Who says she's asking?" the woman shrugged. "I know how my lil' sis can be some of-" she caught herself, laughing. "Okay, most of the time. And she hates the three of you especially."

"Why would this make us want to help?" Alex asked, but I held out a hand to stop her. "Go on," I said.

She nodded. "As I said, she hates you three especially, Zeno the most of all. But she's gotten calmer lately and doesn't get provoked as easily as she normally would," she sighed. "Look, you all have done good for her, whether she wants to admit it or not. She's in a spot of trouble and I think it would be beneficial for you three to help her out of it."

"So," she held out her hand and her black nail polish gleamed in the sunlight. "Would you please help your rival?"

I looked back at my friends. Robert shrugged, smiling as if he knew something the rest of us didn't. Alex sighed, giving me a look that said that she would follow, but wouldn't like it.

"I guess we're all in agreement then," I said cheerfully, turning back to the woman. "We'll help. But, we didn't catch your name."

"Sarah," she answered happily. "Now come along. It's not far from here."

"What's not far from here?" Alex asked as we began returning our Pokemon, but she got no reply.

**Sorry for the long break you guys. I needed that after reaching the midway point. Plus online school. I'm calling BS on my school and how it's handling online classes. We're being given way too much work and causing all this unnecessary stress. So that's another reason why it took this long for an update, but it's here now, so rejoice. Oh, and credit of the name Kage-Shinobi goes to one of my followers over on Wattpad. In other news, I put TMR2 on Hiatus for a number of reasons, so now I can focus on LDOC, but also on Dark, cause some of you really seem to enjoy it. Anyway, till next time. Let the second half of LDOC begin! Toodles!**


	45. Chapter 43: Dangerous Stakes

"I do not like the looks of those Murkrow," Alex pointed out, looking at the Flying and Dark types which stared at us from atop crumbling stone walls outside.

"Just ignore them," Robert said. "And they probably won't curse you."

Alex jabbed him in the ribs and he groaned in pain.

"Watch your head," Sarah advised as she ducked below the crumbling stone roof and down a set of stairs that lead to darkness.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"Used to be a grand hotel," Sarah said, letting out an Eelektross, which floated above the ground, generating enough electricity for us to see. "Now it's just desolate of the 'grand'. Hence the name, Desolate Hotel."

"I thought it was the Lost Hotel?" Robert asked.

"Nah," Sarah shook her head. "Desolate fits it much better."

We were now at the bottom of the stairs, a faded red carpet with many holes leading down a long hallway. The light allowing us to see that didn't come from Eelektross was coming from fires in several trash cans, several punk looking people by each one. There were even sleeping Litwick placed on candle holders on the sides of the walls for more light.

"Come on," Sarah directed us down the hall. "Ignore everyone. Some might want to pick a fight, but most won't. None will with me around."

Lucario huffed at my side, eyeing a Bisharp which was staring coldly at him from beside a punk dude with tall pink spikes on his head for hair. The guy made a tch sound when he saw me looking and I decided it would be best not to provoke. People like these wouldn't be an issue for me to handle, but that didn't mean I wanted to start unnecessary fights.

Suddenly, a loud boom echoed through the hall, followed by more, somewhat softer ones, but still really loud.

"What the-!?" Alex pressed her hands to her ears, which we were all doing.

Sarah gritted her teeth and grabbed the nearest punk girl leaning next to a burning trash can. "He's still here!?"

The woman she had grabbed nodded her piercing-ridden face and Sarah sighed, letting her go. Then she stalked down the hall towards the loud noise. We followed and only when we got closer was I able to make out hard rock singing. We turned a corner to a large room where many punk people were cheering loudly with the music, pumping their fists into the air. On a makeshift stage to our left, where everyone was cheering at, was a guy with big edgy black and white hair and deathly pale skin. He clearly lived by the definition 'rocking out' as he swung around with his bass, yelling into his skull and spike decorated speaker and pole, screaming out unintelligible words, but the crowd ate it up regardless.

"It's him," Robert said, pointing at the singer. "From the train."

I only noticed Sarah was gone when we saw her march onto the stage and grab the microphone away from the singer. He let his hands fall across the strings one last time, making it sound like it hurt.

"I thought you were done with this place?" Sarah asked, exasperated. "Aren't you supposed to move onto your next show, Piers?"

"Nah," he shook his head, causing his spiky hair to swing. "Showings all been cancelled due to the cult and whatnot. So I sent my lil sis on back home and decided to stay here for a spell."

He looked around, smiling. "This place is one bloody hell of a mess. I guess that's why I like it."

Sarah sighed. "Fine, do what you will. My father will kick you out before long, so I'd get out before then. When he does personal business, you don't wanna be there."

"Noted," Piers grinned, holding his mic in the air. "Who here wants another show!?"

The crowd cheered and Sarah just shook her head. "Come on you three, before he starts up again. Lucky our destination is just far enough away for his music to be a low echo."

"You mentioned your father?" I asked, not missing what she said. Her face soured at the mention, so I asked further, "Does he have something to do with why Clara needs our help?"

"Yeah, something like that," Sarah shook her head, trying to smile. "Come on, not far now."

We were walking down a different looking hallway now. Nicer looking and less things broken. She rapped on a door labeled "Keep Out". "Hey, sis! You in there!?"

No reply, then the door swung open. "I told you to-!"

She faltered when she registered that we were behind Sarah. Clara was currently wearing her usual clothes, but her black lipstick was only partially on and her hair was a mess. She took a second to glare at her sister before slamming the door.

"Oi!" Sarah shouted. "Don't slam the door in my face!"

I shared a glance with Alex. Now we could tell Sarah was definitely Clara's sister.

Sarah sighed. "You better be ready in one minute or Eelektross is breaking down the door."

Her Electric Pokemon shared a glance with his trainer and she nodded. Eelektross appeared to sigh like his trainer and began charging up electricity.

"Stand back," Sarah cautioned. "The blast may knock you back, so it's best to stand against the wall."

Just as Eelektross was getting ready to fire, Clara shoved the door open, still glaring at Sarah. "You brought them here? What, decided I needed a crowd to watch me get embarrassed?"

"No," Sarah snapped back. "I thought you would need encouragement and people to support you, 'cause obviously mine isn't enough!"

Clara stepped into her personal space, showing that she was half a foot shorter than Sarah, but she clearly didn't care. "I don't need them to support me. That's the last thing I want."

"Okay," I held up my hands, hoping to break the tension. "Can we at least know why Sarah brought us here?"

"There isn't a reason," Clara snapped angrily. "Now get out!"

Sarah folded her arms. "Clara here is being forced into a Pokemon battle with high stakes involved. Dangerous stakes. Our father didn't appreciate the first time she ran away, nor the last time. Now she has to fight for her freedom or be forced to work under him for the rest of her life."

"Why don't you just run away again and this time not come back?" Alex asked Clara directly.

"I didn't try to come back," Clara growled. "He caught me off guard."

"He stole two of her Pokemon," Sarah said. "Using them as hostages."

"If I win, I can take back my Pokemon and leave," Clara didn't look at us. "If I lose, I'll be forced to stay or my Pokemon get hurt."

"So you don't think you'll win?" Robert asked.

Clara scowled. "I won't, but I have no choice but to try."

"So you can't do anything to help?" I asked Sarah.

She shook her head. "Trust me, bringing you three here as support is the best I can do. Dear old dad and I have our own deal that I can't let break."

"Support?" Clara sounded disgusted. "I don't need no damn support from them!"

She stepped back into her room and slammed the door shut. Sarah shook her head sadly. "Sorry. Guess there's no point for you all to stick around. I'll see you out."

As we left with her, I couldn't help but look back at Clara's closed door. Lucario stopped and looked at me, his aura reaching out to me. I sighed, letting myself remember.

"What is it?" Alex had stopped, looking at the two of us.

I met her eyes and she searched mine, coming up with a grimace. She knew, both of us did.

"What are you two doing?" Sarah asked, Robert and her having stopped as well.

"We both had trash luck," Alex shook her head. "But it's probably best if it's just you."

"Story of our lives," I smiled sadly. "But you're probably right."

"We'll go watch the concert or something," Alex promised. "We'll be here."

I nodded and turned around, heading back to Clara's room. I heard Sarah asking what was going on, but Alex told her it would work out. Taking a deep breath, I knocked once on Clara's door. It opened a crack, Clara's glaring blue eyes meeting mine.

"Back again?" she said distastefully, but she didn't close the door. A good sign.

"It's just me," I said, trying to smile reassuringly. "Can I come in? I want to talk."

She stood there for what felt like the longest time before sighing and opening the door wider. "Sure, come on in."

Her room was dark, as what reflected on her personality. Walls painted crudely black, some parts worn and chipped, a hole the size of a fist on the left. Aside from some eyeshadow and spare earrings, there wasn't anything girly to be seen. There were some posters with various heavy metal bands featured, one of them showing a town called Spikemuth which had a scribbled signature on the front.

"Spikemuth," I looked at Clara. "Isn't that where that guy "Piers" is from?"

"He's the Gym Leader there," Clara said, sitting on a black comforter that lay messily on her rickety bed. "What did you want, Zeno?"

"We never did get the chance to talk properly back in Laverre," I said, testing the only chair in the room for durability before deciding to sit down. "So you saw my gym battle with Valerie?"

Clara smirked. "Oh, you bet I did. Best breakdown ever."

I chuckled. "Maybe it was, but it was also the worst," I became somber. "I was going through something rough, but I managed to get over it. Of course, I couldn't do that alone."

I looked at her closed door. "How long until you need to battle your dad?"

"Not for a while," Clara rested one hand on her palm, a scowl still on her face.

"Good," I tried to get comfortable in the chair. "Because I think you need to hear what I have to say. So please, just listen. Say whatever you want, but save it for after I'm done." I took a deep breath. "My journey as a Pokemon Trainer may have begun in Alola, but that's not where I started out."

"Obviously," Clara remarked, rolling her eyes. "You do not look Alolan."

"But it was the first place I'm willing to call home," I said, smiling as I thought back to the tropical islands. The adventures I had there, the time I had spent with my friends. "I was born in Kanto and my father... Well, let's just say he's not pleasant. A terrible person I was never smart enough to get away from until it was almost too late. Up until then, I had done terrible things. Things I won't tell you, not because I don't think you could handle it nor because I think you won't understand. I've worked hard to put that time of my life behind me, but I had to accept who I was."

"My friends," I closed my eyes, remembering back to Ula'ula island, where I had met up with Alex, Robert, Hau, and Lillie, all who forgave me. "They didn't care who I had been, what I had done, they just cared that I was their friend and that was enough. Something I didn't think I deserved."

"After everything that went down in Alola," I continued. "I decided to try and reconcile with my father. It was foolish and nothing changed," I looked up at Clara. "We're more alike than you would like to admit."

Clara didn't say anything, nor did her expression give away what she might be thinking. Then finally, after a minute of silence, "So that's why you can forgive so easily."

"Huh?"

Clara sighed. "Seriously, I was wondering why you could be so nice to me, despite what I've done to you and everyone else. You've been trying to change me this whole time, haven't you?"

I just stared for a couple seconds, before saying, "Yeah, I guess I was. Sorry."

"No," Clara looked away, grimacing. "It's fine." She laughed darkly. "Of course, that's what I should want to say."

She looked back at me, smirking. "I meant what I said before. Misfortune does follow you around wherever you go. You seem to have accepted that, even making it sound like a good thing."

She stepped closer, jabbing a finger into my chest. "Now prove us both wrong today."

She walked towards the door, swinging it open. "You took it upon yourself to change who I was. I didn't ask nor did I want you to. Let me do things my way. However, a little intervention couldn't hurt."

I smiled as she left. Now we were getting somewhere.

...

"What a broken arena," Alex commented as Sarah directed us towards the doorway that lead to the stands before leaving us.

"You sure Clara said she wouldn't mind our help?" Robert asked again.

"Yeah, something like that," I patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We're only needed if things go south."

"They always do," Alex said as we found front row seats, close to the edge of the stands. Below was the cracked marble battlefield, pieces of trash littering the sidelines. Clara stood at the end closest to the entrance and had her Scizor out beside her. On the other end was her father. He had short graying hair that used to be black and wore biker clothes. He had his arms folded, grinning at his daughter as she glared at him, scars adorning his face. He definitely wasn't someone I wanted to mess with. Behind him was a cage. In it was Clara's Bisharp and a Pawniard. Both looked worse for wear, but watched as father and daughter were about to do battle.

"You know the rules," he said, voice deep. "You'll obey or I'll have Torkoal fry both Pokemon some more."

A Torkoal was positioned just outside the cage, smoke curling out of him. A small flame curled out of his mouth for show.

"How likely is it that Clara wins?" Alex whispered to me. We made sure to sit away from most of the punks around in the stands, but we couldn't be too careful.

"Depends," I folded my hands. "I think she doesn't give herself enough credit when it comes to her dad. But, even if she did win, I doubt her pops would just let her and her Pokemon go. That's where we come in."

"Hey, mind if I sit here?"

The three of us looked up to see Piers standing a seat above us and to the left.

"Sure," I said and he smile gratefully, sitting near me.

He stuck out a hand. "We met on the train, but never formally introduced ourselves. Piers."

"Zeno," I said, shaking his hand.

"Alex," she said after me. "Pleasure."

Robert just waved slightly, unable to reach the hand offered. "Robert."

"So what do you all think?" Piers looked down at the battle that had already gotten underway. Scizor vs Magmortar. A Pokemon that Scizor was crazy weak to, but was managing to dodge all the attacks. For now at least.

"Why?" Alex asked suspiciously.

"I'm not supporting that chap if that's what's making you worried," Piers fingered the ring on his metal choker. "I'm only here to see a good battle. However, I know a trap when I see one."

His eyes turned towards the entrance to this room, one that was guarded by three punkheads, all rolling a Dusk Ball in their hands. I took the time to observe everyone in the stands. I had a feeling they would all support their boss, even if it meant subduing his own daughter.

"Though I'm willing to bet you already knew that," Piers smiled sideways at me. "I'm offering my assistance."

"Why?" I repeated the same question Alex had asked him.

"I stayed here because I thought these were my kind of people," Piers expression turned dark. "Kinda reminds me of Spikemuth here. But Yell and I got morals. These folks don't. Beside," he grinned, which looked haunting due to his pale skin. "I want to cause some damage here. Wouldn't be a party if nothin' happened."

"Fair enough," I sighed. "You're a gym leader, correct? You must be strong then. We're glad to have you as support."

"Hey, no biggie," Piers rolled around a Dusk Ball in his hand. "My partner's been anxious for a while now."

"Zeno," Alex's voice was tense. I turned back toward the battle, where it was just finishing up. And by the looks of it, Clara seemed to be winning. We watched as she commanded her Scizor with ferocity, but it was controlled, not done out of pure rage like she had battled with me back during the whole Power Plant fiasco.

Clara's eyes met mine for a single instant. I remembered the words of advice I had given her way back when she, Alex, Robert, and I had traveled together for that brief period of time.

_"Looks like I have to show you type advantage doesn't mean everything!"_

"Bullet Punch!" Clara shouted. Scizor, burnt in several placed on his metal body, unleashed quick rapid fire movement, causing Magmortar to stumble back. "Acrobatics!"

He zoomed around the Fire type's body, dealing massive damage. When Scizor leaped backwards, skidding on the marble surface, Magmortar collapsed.

Clara's father sighed. "Insolent child." He raised his gaze, showing no love for his daughter in them. "Didn't I teach you that disobeying your father would result in punishment?"

He snapped his fingers and the Torkoal began heating up. Clara's body twitched, like she was wanting to run, but knew she couldn't do anything. So she looked at us, me, eyes pleading. I had a feeling she never got much help from anyone in her life, which resonated within me.

"Greninja! Lucario!" I shouted, rising from my seat. "NOW!"

Greninja leaped from the shadows of the stands, throwing two Shurikens that cut of Torkoal's attack and blasted the Fire type back. Lucario ran ahead of the Water type, breaking the bars apart with his paws.

Clara's father turned to face us, the four of us now standing. "It seems you actually have people fighting for your sake now?" He smirked. "Time to show you what happens when you mess with me. Deal with them!"

There were around a couple dozen punks, all letting out different Pokemon, mainly Dark and Poison types.

"Let's give them our protection," Piers shouted, throwing his pokeball. A large bipedal Pokemon sprang out, his fur black, white, and grey. His eyes were red as his tongue lolled out, narrowing his gaze at our many opponents. "Obstagoon, use Obstruct!"

Just as several attacks were shot our way, Obstagoon jumped in front of us, holding both arms close to his chest. An X like barrier shot up in front of him, protecting against every attack.

"Parabolic Charge!"

Electricity blasted everywhere from Clara's Heliolisk, taking down several Pokemon. A burst of light nearly blinded me from the right and I looked to see a Chesnaught landing down on the battlefield, flaring up a Spiky Shield just as several Pokemon tried to hit him with physical moves.

"Alright!" Robert cheered. "Way to go, Chesnaught!"

"Flamethrower!" Alex shouted, both her Pyroar and Ninetales blasting streams of fire, making the punks scramble away as their Pokemon dealt with the attacks.

Clara's father zeroed his gaze on me and his eyes narrowed. He let out an Electivire and the Electric type Pokemon jumped towards me, fist crackling with electricity. With a howl, Lucario appeared in front of me, swinging his fist to meet with Electivire's, knocking me over with the force of the blow.

"Lucario!" I shouted. He turned his head to grin at me, before meeting Electivire's gaze. With a howl, he pushed the enemy Pokemon back and leaped forwards, slamming the Electric type with a bone. Leaping backwards, he threw two new bones, each one knocking Electivire back a step.

"Gren," Greninja said, coming at my side, carrying both Bisharp and Pawniard.

"Good job," I nodded and let out Arcanine. "Get them out of here buddy!"

Greninja put the two injured Pokemon on Arcanine's back and he shot out of the room, blasting through the closed doors and out of the hotel.

"Let's test this out again," I took a step forwards, concentrating. "Greninja!"

The connection formed and a column of water erupted around Greninja. Unsteady, brimming with power. Just what we needed.

"Everyone back!" I shouted. "Let's get out of here!"

Greninja leaped into the middle of the fray, just slamming into other opponents to knock them away. He then blew away the water column, forming it back into his cloak and weapons.

"The hell!" Clara shouted next to me.

"Oh, right," I grinned. "You never got to see this back in Laverre. Let me show you what you have to overcome later on! Water Shuriken!"

Greninja shot two larger shurikens, each one taking down two Pokemon. Meanwhile, Lucario blasted Electivire back towards Clara's father, who's expression was now one of rage.

"Kill them!" he shouted over the chaos.

"Great father, huh," Clara said sarcastically.

"Mine's not any better," I checked to make sure that Alex, Robert, and Piers were already out of the room. "Now come on, we're the last ones left. Greninja! Lucario!"

As soon as we halfway down the main hallway in the hotel, Greninja and I both stumbled, our connection lost as he returned to his regular self.

"C'mon," Clara hauled me to my feet as Greninja picked himself back up with the help of Lucario. "No collapsing on me now."

As we ran, the sounds of pursuers behind, Clara said, "Thank you, Zeno."

I smiled as we neared the stairs. "Friends help each other, it's what we do. So no need to thank me yet. Besides, we're not out of the woods yet!"

Clara laughed, grinning despite the situation. Sarah was waiting at the top of the stairs, nodding at us as we passed. She gave me a smile, her eyes saying "thank you". Then she and her Eelektross stood at the top of stairs with the intention of letting no one pass.

**Chapters seem to be getting longer and longer now. Ah, feels good. Oh, if any of you were wondering why there wasn't a whole lot of interaction with Clara and her father, there's a reason. I plan on doing more about Clara in Pokemon Dark one day, so there's that to look forward to. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and until next time readers. Toodles**


	46. Chapter 44: A Tale of Life and Death

"Already leaving?" I asked, looking up from my bowl of curry. It was currently night and the moon was out shining.

"Yeah," Piers nodded next to his Obstagoon. "While we may not be able to do any more shows thanks to that bloody cult, I was invited to do some special battles here. Before that I guess I should train and get to know this region a little better."

He turned and began walking out of the campsite with his Pokemon, waving back at us. "Maybe I'll be seeing you four again."

Sometime after he had gone, Clara set down her bowl. "Thanks again."

Alex raised her eyebrows, trying to hide a smile. Clara noticed and shot her a glare.

"Really, it's no problem," I shot a glare at my two friends and they nodded in agreement, though Alex rolled her eyes when Clara wasn't looking.

"I honestly should be going as well," Clara stood, setting her bowl down on the leaf-covered ground. "I need more time to think by myself. But before that," she unclipped a pokeball from her belt and handed it to me.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Pawniard," she smiled. "I already have Bisharp, plus I feel like Pawniard will be better off with you as his trainer. I did a poor job of it with my own it seems. I plan on fixing it, but I don't want to try and train a new Pokemon on top of that."

"Are you sure?" I questioned. "I'll accept, but only if your absolutely certain."

Clara hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah, I am." She started to walk away, then turned to look at me. "Last time I beat you. I expect you to get stronger and give me more of a challenge."

With that, she walked off, though in a different direction than Piers.

"Back to just us three again," Alex sighed, helping herself to more curry. "Dang, there's not much more in here."

"What?" Robert looked in then glared at Alex. "I wanted more thank you very much."

Alex smirked, twirling her spoon at him. "Sucks to be you, huh."

"Hmph," Robert folded his arms. "Looks like there will be no dessert tomorrow."

Alex sighed, holding out her bowl. "You can have half. Only half."

"Sweet," Robert piled some of her food into his own bowl and began eating.

Alex looked at her food and glared at him. "That was more than half!"

Smiling, I walked towards the tent Robert and I shared and let out Pawniard. He had been healed by Robert, but we were gonna get him checked up at the Pokemon Center in Dendemille Town to be sure.

"You okay?" I asked the somewhat confused Pokemon.

He made a metal-like sound and I smiled. "Hey, don't worry. We'll see Clara again for sure. In the meantime, she wanted you to train with me."

Lucario walked over and knelt by Pawniard, staring down at him. Then he rubbed the smooth part of the Steel type's head and gave him a thumbs up.

I grinned. "You get him used to all this Lucario, will you?"

Lucario nodded and led Pawniard away to meet the other Pokemon. As I walked back over to Alex and Robert, I stopped by a tree, looking up. "Anyone out there?"

Greninja landed next to me without a sound and shook his head.

"Good," I yawned. "Could you keep watch until morning? We want to make sure no one comes back for revenge. Switch off with Lucario if you get too tired."

"Gren," he said and leaped back up into the tree. Holding back another yawn, I helped Alex and Robert clean up the dishes in the river and we all headed into our tents for the night.

...

"A town on the sides of a hill," Robert nodded as we walked into the city on the lowest part. "Quite interesting to say the least."

A town where fluff dances on the wind apparently, according to Robert. Houses were built on the side of the hill with a road leading up the path towards the top where a solar power windmill sat. The weather had gone from fall like to a gentle snow with temperatures getting colder. Unfortunately for Alex and I, there wasn't a gym here.

"Brr," Alex rubbed her bare arms. "I am not liking this at all. We need to buy warmer clothes."

"Oh, definitely," Robert agreed, checking his town map. "It's gonna get much colder after this town."

"Let's go shopping again then" I rubbed the back of my head. "But it really isn't that cold."

Alex slapped me on the back of my head, making Robert bite back the words he was about to say, which were probably in agreement with my own.

"I'll get the clothes," Alex appointed herself. "Actually, Robert, you come to."

"What about me?" I asked, having a bad feeling about this.

Alex smirked. "Go to the Pokemon Center and wait. You did want to get Pawniard checked up, right?"

I sighed, nodding. As she turned to head up the street, I tugged on Robert's sleeve. "I'm not saying to stop her completely, but please make sure my clothes will be presentable."

"Yeah, man," he patted me on the shoulder, grinning. "I got you. I got you."

As he left, the sinking feeling in my stomach plummeted. I had a feeling it was going to be so much worse now.

...

"The check-up shouldn't take too long," Nurse Joy bowed her head as Wigglytuff wheeled Pawniard into the back of the Pokemon Center.

"Thanks," I nodded and headed back outside. I breathed out, watching my breath frost. Something beeped in my backpack, so I slipped it off and pulled out my Holo Caster. Thankfully Clemont was able to work his science and make it so this Holo Caster as well as Robert's and Alex's wouldn't be monitored. Clicking a button, a hologram appeared of Diantha.

"You're awake," I exclaimed, then made the decision to head to the back of the Pokemon Center. "When did you wake up?"

"Just yesterday," Diantha smiled, but it looked forced. "I heard what happened in Laverre and I can't thank you enough. I was asleep for too long it seems. Despite capturing many Cultists..."

"It still feels like we lost that battle," I said, feeling the same as she did.

Diantha nodded. "I'm not at full strength yet and I don't think I'll ever be. What they did to me I do not know, but it's taken its toll. The public doesn't know I am awake yet, so please keep it a secret. Telling Robert and Alex should be fine."

"Alright," I looked around, just to make sure there was no one nearby.

"I've alerted the International Police about Lysandre and Team Flare," Diantha went on. "They're currently trying to build a case, but he's covered his tracks well. We also don't want him catching onto us."

"Is your Holo Caster...safe?" I asked, wary.

She nodded. "Yes. This won't be monitored. I'm assuming yours are as well, but I had something installed to make sure yours was covered even if you hadn't." She winced, bringing her hand to her head. Before I could say anything, she said. "I heard from Valerie you're heading to Dendemille Town to learn more about Xerneas and Yveltal, correct? That's good. If the Cult does manged to summon this Chaos, we may need the power of the Kalos Legendaries."

"Diantha," I could see her straining herself. "You're not fully recovered yet. Don't worry about Kalos right now. We have it covered."

She gave a small smile. "Thank you."

The call ended and I tucked the device into my pocket. "Kalos legendaries, huh? Yeah, we're going to need to know a lot more about them."

...

"On the bright side," Robert said as we all walked down the street together. "Diantha's awake. On the down side, she's not fully healed. On the other bright side, you look fashionable, Zeno."

"Shut it," I growled, keeping my hands stuffed in the snow jacket Alex had picked out for me. It wasn't the worst, but I still didn't feel comfortable in it. Bright blue with water symbols on it, a Greninja featured on the back. My only consolation was that the thicker pants I wore were black.

"I have a Greninja," I felt the need to point this out. "But why did you have to buy this? Something plain would have been a lot better."

"There was a plain hot pink one, right?" Alex turned to ask Robert.

"Yeah," he agreed. "On sale too. I'm sure they wouldn't mind taking this one back. I mean, if that's what Zeno wants..."

I felt my eye twitch and they both laughed at my expense. Sighing, I straightened my wool cap, which thankfully was black as well.

"So," Alex wiped a tear from her eye, still grinning. "Valerie said the old lady lived where again?"

"Northernmost part of town," I responded as we continued our ascent up the street, heading near the top of the hill.

"But we don't know exactly which house," Robert scratched his head. "Well, I guess we can just ask around and hope their aren't too many old women who live here."

We were now on the street that had the windmill, which was just down the road to our left.

"You know," Alex squinted. "That windmill is basically the northernmost part of town. Maybe it's a house as well."

"Can't hurt to check," I shrugged.

"Mailbox," Robert noted as we stepped towards the door.

We let Alex take the lead on this on as she knocked on the door, stepping back. We waited for about ten seconds before we heard the door being unlocked. It opened to reveal a woman who was probably in her late twenties or early thirties. She had long black hair and tan skin with brown eyes. Despite the weather she wore shorts and a black t-shirt with the words **"Dendemille Museum"** in block letters.

"What can I do for you kids," she asked, eyeing us suspiciously. "It's the weekend, so we're closed."

"Wait," Robert stepped back, looking around. "This is a museum? I didn't see a sign?"

"We're local," the woman said, folding her arms. "We don't really need signs."

"Sorry," Alex apologized. "We're looking for an elderly woman. Would one live around here?"

The woman just stared at Alex for a moment, then sighed. "Come on in." She gestured for us to follow her as she headed back inside. "Lock the door when you come in. Leave your shoes at the door as well. I don't want the floor wet."

The three of us left our shoes on the welcome mat and looked around. We were in a large circular room, glass cases set up around us, displaying old artifacts inside. There were old paintings hanging up, one showing a majestic Pokemon with multicolored antlers in a serene forest, several other Pokemon either around or on her. Next to that painting was another, this one showcasing a large winged Pokemon which looked like arms, with a third one seeming like a tail. It was blasting a dark energy beam down on a town in flames, it's body black and red.

"Welcome to Dendemille's Museum," the woman said, standing in the middle of the room.

"You live here?" Robert asked.

"My house is through that door," she pointed at a door behind her with an electronic lock. "Off limits mind you. We'll talk in here."

"So wait," Alex looked lost. "You're not the elderly woman, are you?"

"Seems like Valerie didn't explain much," our host shook her head. "She can be a bit vague at times. Or she enjoys doing this to me." She went over to the door that apparently lead to her house and knocked on it. "Rotom, bring out some tea."

She looked back at us. "There isn't an old lady here, at least none that Valerie would mention. She was talking about the windmill," she patted the cracked wall, smiling fondly. "It's old, but we've been keeping her up and running, with a few modifications of course. One of the reasons why I decided to start a small museum here."

"But how'd you get all this stuff?" Robert asked another question, looking around.

"My mom was a collector," she shrugged. "As was her mom. I just decided to finally let the public see it. For a price of course. I need to stay afloat somehow."

She shook her head. "Sorry, forgot to say it. I'm Sandra. Nice to meet you three."

We introduced ourselves and Sandra raised an eyebrow. "Ah, the ones who helped out in Laverre City. Right, Valerie did mention she sent you guys to me. Guess I forgot."

"We wanted to know more about Xerneas," I said.

"You'll want to know about Yveltal as well then," Sandra put in. "The two legendaries that helped shape Kalos, those two go hand-in-hand. Xerneas, the Life Pokemon," she went over to the painting with the Pokemon with antlers, then pointed at the winged Pokemon destroying the city. "And Yveltal, the Destruction Pokemon. They're also known as the Mistress of Life and the Herald of Death."

She scowled. "However, a certain rich family designated Xerneas as Beast X. A crude name for sure."

"Beast X," Alex muttered, but I remembered.

"Princess Allie," I remembered that girl, mostly because she essentially kidnapped me and tried to marry me. "She told us a story about Beast X and the king of Parfum Palace."

"Disgusting story," Sandra reflected our sentiments perfectly. "I had the rare chance to hear it myself. I wanted to add that piece of Xerneas' antler to the museum so it wouldn't be in their hands, but that brat wouldn't let me."

"Yeah," I shook my head. "Sounds like her."

Alex muttered something about about the princess that I didn't catch, but I guessed it wasn't pleasant.

"Anyway," I said, trying to get back on track. "We need to know more about them. What can you tell us?"

"First," Sandra said, raising a finger. "I need to know why."

"Why?" Alex asked, looking at me.

I nodded. "Because of my Greninja. Well, he was a Frogadier when he died."

Sandra blinked, then the door to her house opened. A Wash Rotom buzzed in, balancing a plate of tea cups atop him. Sandra set it on the floor and thanked him. He buzzed happily and zoomed back into the house, the door shutting and locking behind him.

Sandra took a long drink before setting her cup down. "Let me see this Greninja of yours."

I unclipped his pokeball and let him out. Sandra walked up to him, inspecting him.

"Yeah," Sandra put her palm on his forehead. "The buzzing of life. It's stronger with him." She looked at me. "So you both met Xerneas?"

When I nodded, she asked, "What did she look like?"

I started, then replied, "A white tree. Ancient looking."

Sandra nodded, pursing her lips. "That would make sense. According to their legends, Xerneas and Yveltal have a lot of power, so when a lot of it is used up, they would go into a hibernation sort of state. Xerneas into a tree, Yveltal into a cocoon." She walked over to a glass case and tapped it. "Take a look."

We went over and looked at what was inside. Several ancient looking texts on age-worn papers, but Sandra was pointing at a specific one. On it were crude pictures of the Legendary Pokemon as seen in the painting. There was also a tree similar to the one I had seen next to Xerneas, and a cocoon next to Yveltal.

"Of course," Sandra said. "They aren't in total hibernation, as seen with you, Zeno. I'm guessing after Xerneas was freed from Parfum Palace thanks to the King's descendant, she went into her Tree form. However, I'm sure the conflict going on here now in Kalos has stirred her slumber. As it probably is with Yveltal as well."

"Why would Yveltal be asleep?" Robert asked.

Sandra smiled sadly. "People don't like to talk much about the war that occurred between Kalos and Galar. I myself found out as much as I could and discovered Yveltal himself might have made an appearance. Yveltal may be the embodiment of death and destruction, but in the end, he is still a protector of Kalos in his own way. It was said there was an entire fleet making it's way secretly to invade Kalos, but was mysteriously wiped out. If the survivor's words are to be taken as truth, there was a winged monster there, its cry one of death itself."

"So it would be wise to assume Yveltal had gone into hibernation as well because of that," Sandra finished. "However, both must know of the Cult and other dangers plaguing Kalos."

She looked at us all. "If Xerneas saw fit to make an appearance to you, then you all must be vital to saving this region. However, I'm afraid Xerneas and Yveltal might not be able to help save Kalos."

"Why is that?" Alex asked.

Sandra opened her mouth and started to say something, then seemed to change her mind. "Have any of you heard the Tale of the Great Kalos War?"

"The one from 300 years ago with Kalos?" I asked, but Sandra shook her head.

She lead us over to another glass case. This time there was a small painting inside showing a man atop what looked like a giant flower of sorts. "There was a man who lived in Kalos 3000 years ago. It was a time of war, where people and Pokemon fought. Kalos was divided at the time and people and Pokemon alike were called into battle. The man's Pokemon, a Floette," she pointed at another drawing, this one of a Floette with a dark flower. "Was called into battle. After several years of war, the man received a tiny box."

This time we were looking at a handmade item, a replica by the looks of it. A small wooden coffin with a black flower and red stem atop it. Alex pressed her hand to her mouth and Robert shook his head.

Sandra continued. "The man sought to bring back his Pokemon, no matter what it took. So he sought created a machine that would give life back to his Pokemon. And so, he had revived Floette. But the man's anger had not subsided. He sought revenge against the cruel world that had taken his beloved Pokemon away from him. So he turned the machine that had created life, and turned it into one that would take it, the Ultimate Weapon."

She pointed back at the man atop the flower. "He became a bringer of destruction that ended the war. He wiped out a large portion of both sides of the war, ending it after so many long years. However, that machine was only able to be used at a terrible cost," She closed her eyes. "Pokemon were used to power it."

"What?" Robert's eyes were wide. "Pokemon!?"

Sandra nodded. "So the Floette found out what was done to bring her back. So she left the man. It is said he continues to live eternally due to unexpected side effects of using the machine, wandering forever in hopes of finding his Pokemon."

"So what was the purpose of that story?" I asked.

Sandra smirked. "Nothing gets past you, huh?" she frowned. "I had managed to locate what I believed to be the tree that was Xerneas and the cocoon that was Yveltal."

"I thought you said you were a collector," Alex said, raising an eyebrow.

Sandra laughed. "Smart kids, aren't you all. I'm also an archaeologist."

"Anyway," Sandra shook her head. "The tree and cocoon, both have disappeared recently."

"Disappeared?" I questioned. "How?"

"I do not know," she said, a bit of anger behind her voice as she said it. "But I believe I know the reason why. After countless studies, I came to the conclusion that the stones on Route 10 are not actually stones. They're shells."

"Shells of what?" Robert asked, but I had a feeling he had guessed as I had.

"Shells of the Pokemon used to power the Ultimate Weapon," Sandra affirmed my conclusion. "And if regular Pokemon can be used to do that much destruction, imagine the aftermath of using a legendary Pokemon, the Destruction Pokemon himself if my hypothesis is correct."

Robert's eyes widened. "Region-wide?"

Sandra shook her head. "Planet-wide. My guess is that whoever stole the stones needed to use them for tests. Now they want Yveltal, though I don't know why they would need Xerneas."

I stayed silent, connecting the pieces. She might not know why Xerneas was needed, but now I think I knew. Team Flare were probably the first to test the stones, but left them on Route 10. Team Radiance on the other hand stole the stones to study them. If both Xerneas and Yveltal were stolen, I could guess who took either one.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door. Sandra stood and crossed the room, opening it. After talking with someone, she closed the door and groaned.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

"Team Flare was spotted heading up towards the Frost Cavern," Sandra sighed. "I'm the one who usually takes care of issues around here since I'm the only one strong enough, but I have business to take care of elsewhere, so," she looked at us. "Could I ask you three to head up there and stop whatever they're doing. I'm fairly certain you all are capable."

"We sure are," Robert slapped his knee, standing up. "Constant danger will do that to you."

"I have one last question," I said. "If you knew this much about Xerneas and Yveltal, why haven't you told people like the International Police? Knowing this would greatly help them in saving Kalos."

Sandra just stood there, both of us staring at one another. Finally, she smiled softly. "I was told to wait."

"Wait for what?" I asked.

"For you," she replied. "You're not the only one who receives visions, Hero Born of Darkness."

**With the newest addition of Pawniard to Zeno's Pokemon, he now has a full team of six. Twelve total if we're counting his Alolan 'mons. 13 if we decide to include Rotom, but hey, who cares. In other news, school sucks. I just really want it to be over at this point. I mean, this week was more relaxed, which is why I was able to get this out now. However, school still sucks. Until next time. I'll get another update out for LDOC, then work on the next part for Dark. Toodles**


	47. Chapter 45: Cold Defeat

"Who is she?" I muttered as we trudged along the snow covered path up the mountain. "Who is Sandra?"

"Don't think she'll tell us," Alex pointed out. "She essentially kicked us out."

"Not really," Robert inputted. "We're in a hurry technically. Who knows what Team Flare is up to."

"Yeah, unfortunately we can't just run up the mountain," I watched my breath fade away. "Team Flare could be at the Frost Cavern, but they also might be doing something near it. Can't be too sure."

"Glad we decided to buy the coats when we did," Alex said as she let a snowflake fall onto her gloved palm. "A lot of snow and cold up here."

A cawing noise came from above and we looked up to see Corvisquire circling down towards us. I held out my arm and he landed on it. "Find anything?"

"Caw," he fluttered his wings, pointing his beak up the path. After a few more steps, the ground began to slope down, leading straight to the mouth of a cave.

"Must be Frost Cavern," Robert said. "So they're in there after all."

"Footprints," Alex pointed at the fading prints. "Snow's covering them up fast, but they're leading into it."

"Let's go then," I held up my pokeball. "Thanks, Corvisquire. An ice cave probably isn't best suited for a Flying type like you."

"Caw," he agreed and I returned him.

"Alright," I let out Mawile and Greninja. "We're after Team Flare again. Let's go put a stop to them shall we. Mawile, I need you to be ready to attack at any moment. Greninja, you'll be able to hide in the darkness, so show us your shinobi skills."

Mawile nodded, staring at the entrance of the cave. Once we were right outside of it, we could see the dark blue ice covering the cave floor. Ice stalagmites and stalactites rose and grew from the ceiling, many connecting.

"Dark inside," Alex noted, tossing a pokeball. "Come on out, Pyroar."

"He won't provide light unless he breathes fire," Robert said.

"At least he'll keep us warm," Alex rubbed her Pokemon's mane fondly.

"Well, lucky I brought these," Robert dug out a couple of flashlights from his backpack and handed one to each of us. "They'll come in handy."

"An understatement," I said, flicking the switch. Three beams of light lit up the cave, making the shadows seem longer. Greninja went ahead of us, sticking to the shadows. The only way I knew he was still there with us was if I searched for our bond.

"Hey," Robert pointed his gloved finger ahead. "There's a light."

Sure enough, a bit away, was a small light, getting bigger the closer we got.

"Lights off," I said, switching mine off, followed by Robert's and Alex's. "Stick to the side of the walls. Hopefully we weren't seen. Mawile, be ready just in case."

Once the light source got closer, we could make out three Flare grunts, two guys and one woman.

"At least we got the easy job," one of the guys said, swinging the lantern out in front of him, none of them looking to the sides of the tunnel wall. "We only need to keep people out. Should be simple enough."

"Easy for you to say," the woman rubbed her arms. "It's freezing in here."

"Can't wait for the new world," the last grunt said dreamily. "There probably will be less of cold places like this."

"Idiot," the woman growled. "It'll be an ideal world for Humans and Pokemon to live in. Where do you expect the Ice types to live?"

"Oh yeah..."

Alex looked at me questioningly and I took a moment to think. I shook my head after a moment and we waited for the grunts to get far enough away for us to turn our lights back on.

"They shouldn't be an issue," I said, glancing at Mawile, who was glaring down where the grunts disappeared. "Save that anger, Mawile. We're not done here."

"We'll need to go deeper," Robert warned, shining his light down the tunnel. "What happens if we can't find our way out?"

"As long as it's a straight path we should be fine," I said, rubbing my chin. "Just in case though," I reached out for Greninja, looking at a shadowy section of the tunnel. "If you see any side tunnels, keep track of them. We don't want to get stuck in here forever."

"Gren," he said from the shadows.

After walking for another couple minutes, we reached a cavern with light. It was large, huge ice crystals jutting from the ground. There were around ten grunts, all of them walking around the area with devices in their hands.

"They're scanning the ice," Robert muttered beside me. "But for what?"

"Why don't we go and ask," Alex stood, punching her hand, Pyroar stepping up next to his trainer, letting out a small breath of fire.

"Hold up," I held up my hand, stopping her. "There doesn't seem to be one of their scientists or higher ups around. That means there's more of them around. We should look for the person in charge of this group and take down everyone else. Who would be," I scanned the grunts, finding the one I was looking for. "There, him."

I pointed at the one grunt who seemed to be recording data on a tablet, the only one not scanning the ice. "Leave him to me. I'll need you guys to take down everyone else."

"Do you even have to ask?" Alex smirked.

"Greninja," I said. "Keep to the shadows and take down anyone you can."

I waited another second, then brought my hand down. "Go."

I went first, Mawile running ahead of me. The icy floor allowed me to run faster, past all the surprised grunts.

"Alright then," Alex shouted somewhere behind me. "Let's take these guys down. Flamethrower!"

The grunt I was heading for turned around in surprise, his red-orange sunglasses slipping a little, showing his wide blue eyes. Mawile jumped, swinging her jaw. To the grunt's credit, he managed to let out his Houndoom before Mawile could make impact. She swung her body to the right to avoid the blast of flames from the Fire and Dark type.

The grunt gripped the tablet tightly. "How'd you get past the guards!?"

Mawile leaped next to me as I grinned. "Simple enough to slip past them. Now, why is Team Flare here?"

"Like I'd tell you," he snarled, a bead of sweat dropping down his face despite the cold temperatures. I noticed he moved his tablet behind him.

"Looks like it's the hard way of doing things then," I nodded at Mawile. "Ready?"

She crouched, her back jaw snarling.

"Houndoom!" the grunt shouted. "Fire Blast!"

A symbol of fire appeared, bearing down on Mawile.

"Iron Defense!" I yelled.

Mawile held her ground, sharpening her defenses as she took the explosion of fire head on.

"Our turn," I gripped a fist. "Draining Kiss!"

Mawile touched her hand to her mouth, pulling away as Houndoom's life force was sucked into her, healing her wounds.

"Blast them all to hell!" the grunt cried, backing up. "Inferno!"

My eyes widened. "In a place like this! Mawile, get back!"

I stumbled backwards as a column of raging fire erupted in the middle of the ice cavern, shaking the entire cave. The ice around Houndoom instantly melted, as did the the ceiling. Icicles shook across the room, some coming loose and crashing to the floor. I caught myself before I fell to the ground, looking back to make sure Alex, Robert, and their Pokemon were safe. Chesnaught was using his body to cover both of my friends, Pyroar nowhere in sight, probably returned to his pokeball.

Mawile leaped over my head, smashing an icicle to pieces before it hit me. I raised both hands to cover my head as ice shards rained down on me. The heat was intense, but it was dying down, the inferno's size dwindling.

"Thanks, Mawile," I grunted, placing a hand on the ground to steady myself. "You have to stop this! Sucker Punch!"

Mawile skidded on the melting ice, running in an arc to get to Houndoom.

The Flare grunt was on the ground thanks to the force of the Inferno, shouted, "Stop her! Fire Blast!"

Houndoom turned towards Mawile, blasting another Fire Blast.

"Mawile!" I shouted.

She gave a shout, energy blasting around her. It enveloped her, streaming behind her with golden and silver energy. She rocketed towards Houndoom, bursting through the Fire Blast and slamming into the Fire and Dark type with great force. The Inferno had ceased now, Houndoom flying backwards and crashed through an icicle. Mawile collapsed to one knee, winded.

"Good job," I praised her, standing back up. "Giga Impact, huh. Pretty dang powerful move."

Mawile half-smiled, then clenched her teeth as she stood fully, the effect of the Giga Impact wearing off.

The Flare grunt had scrambled to his feet and was running down another tunnel. Mawile made to give chase, but I shouted, "No! Let him go."

Mawile looked at me with confusion, but I walked over to where the grunt had dropped his tablet. The screen was cracked, but I would leave it up to Robert if it still worked. I turned around to see the cavern in disarray. Most of the grunts were fleeing towards the exit while a few seemed unconscious. None of them got impaled by an icicle, so I felt relieved.

_"Relief?"_ I thought, a bit surprised, but then happy. _"It seems I've come a long way since being that boy who's life was could only be described as hell."_

"Hear, give me," Robert said when he and Alex came over, holding out his hand. I handed it to him and he began messing with it.

I turned to Alex. "You okay?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Chesnaught was a good shield."

"Hey," Robert looked up. "I'm okay too, you know, in case you were wondering."

Alex smirked, tapping the tablet. "Get back to work, techno boy."

"Man," Robert began focusing on the tablet again. Rather, I don't think he ever stopped messing with it, even when giving his remarks. "I would prefer Techno Man."

Alex and I both laughed at his expense.

After a minute, Robert looked up. "Okay, slightly fuzzy screen, but I think I got the gist. You should know, I was barely able to scrounge up any information... and the tablet just died. Great."

"Hey," Alex tapped her foot impatiently. "Hurry it up with the information."

"Patience is a virtue," Robert said in what he probably thought was a wise tone. "I wasn't able to get information outside of what they were doing here, and even then I don't think it's everything, but it should be enough," he cleared his throat. "It seems they're here to retrieve an artifact or something. It's called the "Frozen Light". I think they mean to use it as a power source for a weapon..." He let that stay there, that one word already confirming something I had already reached the conclusion of.

"We know that Xerneas and Yveltal were both taken," I said, thinking back to what Sandra told us earlier. "Radiance has already shown in interest with Xerneas when they stole an artifact, which was part of Xerneas. I believe Eve means to use Xerneas to bring Cassandra back to life."

"Just what we need," Alex groaned. "Cassandra on our backs like she was in Alola."

"So if we can reach that conclusion," I furrowed my eyebrows. "That must mean Team Flare has Yveltal. Now that we know for sure Team Flare is building a weapon, I think it would be wise to assume it's for this Ultimate Weapon Sandra talked about in the story."

"Those grunts from before," Robert snapped his fingers. "They were talking about a new world. An ideal one."

"Sandra said the power of the Ultimate Weapon fueled by the power of a legendary would be planet-wide," Alex crossed her arms. "A goal like killing all life wouldn't make sense for a group like Team Flare. What if their plan isn't to wipe out life entirely?"

"An ideal world," I mused. "One where a select group of humans could start over."

"Come again?" Robert asked.

"What if Team Flare is meant to be the only surviving humans," I explained. "What if their goal is to begin life anew..." my eyes widened as a thought occurred and I tried to remember. "What did Lysandre say again back at the cafe in Lumiose?"

"What?" Alex looked confused, then her eyes widened. "He was speaking to Diantha about not wanting her beauty tainted by the world's ugliness."

"That's it!" I exclaimed. "We know Lysandre must be the leader of Team Flare. If we think about what he said, specifically the ugliness of the world, then his views must be that he sees this world as a terrible place."

"Evil organizations," Robert lifted a finger, then began lifting more. "Cults, politicians... I can see why he would think that."

"So he means to destroy the world and rebuild it to be a better place for humans and Pokemon," Alex finished my thought. "This better be his objective because if not, we just used a lot of brainpower for nothing."

"Okay," Robert held up the tablet. "That was a tangent. Back to this. They want this Frozen Light thing for the Ultimate Weapon it seems. It's resting place is somewhere in this place, the Frost Cavern. More likely further in, but they still had grunts here to make read for signals. Last thing I was able to find out about this artifact is that it dates back to thousands of years."

"Maybe..." Alex waited a moment. "3 thousand years. It would fit with the story we were told. What if this Frozen Light was used as the power source for the Ultimate Weapon back then? Maybe it was the thing that absorbed the life force of the Pokemon."

"You brats seem to know a lot more than you should," a woman's voice said. We all turned to see a large group of people coming out from a tunnel. Team Flare.

The woman in the lead wore red leggings, a red undershirt and tie beneath a white vest, and her hair, lipstick, and sunglasses were red as well. Must be the admin of the group. Following her was the blue haired scientist from the Power Plant and around a dozen grunts.

Blue Scientist stepped forwards, looking around the cavern behind her blue visor, carrying a metal box in her hand. "Quite a battle happened here it seems," she settled on us, Chesnaught and Mawile getting into defensive positions. "Ah, we meet again, _Zeno_. You were right last time, we didn't have all the facts, so we did a bit of digging."

"Zeno, Alex, and Robert," the admin said. "You were all vital in the process of saving Alola 7 months ago. Of course, much of it has been kept under wraps, but we were still able to learn a lot about how strong you all are. Which is why stopping you here would be in the best interest of Team Flare, for the sake of you three not ruining our plans."

"Aw, thanks," Robert rubbed the back of his head, looking mighty happy. "They recognize all of us being a threat, not just you Zeno. Feels good to be appreciated."

"Yeah, _Zeno_," Alex said mockingly, grinning as she gave me a light punch in the shoulder. "Time to let us have some of the glory in being recognized as heroes."

"What should we be called..." Robert mused, rubbing his chin. "Heroes of Darkness? Nah, too anti-villainy. Ooo, I got it!" he grinned, looking a little cocky. "How about the Defenders of Order."

"Defenders of Order?" I looked at him. "Where did that come from?"

"You know," Robert waved his hand. "Our main enemy is the Cult of Chaos. What's the opposite of Chaos? Order. We're the Defenders of Order. The Order of Order came to mind, but that sounded weird."

"Are you all quite done?" the Flare admin sounded exasperated at this point.

"Oh, yes," I smirked. "Sorry, I was letting Robert take the attention so you wouldn't notice anything odd."

Before the admin had time to widen her eyes, a pink wind blasted the grunts from the side, knocking many over. As the admin whirled around, Alex let out her Ninetales. "Flamethrower!"

"You too," Blue Scientist yelled, sending out her Houndoom, whose Flamethrower negated Ninetale's attack.

"Honchkrow," the admin shouted, throwing out the Dark type. "Use Dark Pulse on the trainers!"

"Chesnaught," Robert thrust out his hand and his Pokemon got between us and the attacking Pokemon. "Spiky Shield!"

Chesnaught raised both arms, a green shield with spikes appearing in front of him, defending us from the attack.

Mawile leaped back near us, the grunts all having pulled out a Pokemon.

"We'll finish you here," the admin threatened, pointing a red-colored fingernail at us. "Attack!"

"Now!" I shouted.

A blast of water in the middle of the grunts and their Pokemon caused confusion as Greninja leaped from the icicle he had been clinging onto from the ceiling. He landed on the ground, placing his webbed hand on the rock and ice floor, cracks spreading towards Team Flare. Three geysers of water sprung forth, blasting away grunts and their Pokemon.

"I call left," Alex ran to the left, her Pyroar and Ninetales following her.

"Fiiiine," Robert sighed, shrugging to me as if to say, _"What can you do?"_ and ran to take on the grunts on the right alongside his Chesnaught.

"Guess the admin is ours to take down then," I grinned as Mawile and Greninja got ready on either side of me.

"Children who talk big must be put down," the Flare Admin said, Honchkrow flying above her head, and she let out a Manectric. "Dark Pulse! Thunderbolt!"

"Iron Defense!" I shouted, taking a couple quick steps back. "Water Pulse!"

Mawile let herself take the Thunderbolt, bearing the attack as Greninja held back the beam of darkness with a sphere of water. Then four grunts ran forwards, a Mightyena, Scrafty, Liepard, and Golbat joining in the battle.

Mawile didn't back down, her back jaw growling fiercely, her expression one of defiance. Greninja looked at me and nodded his head.

"Alright," I breathed, letting our connection frequency become equal. "Connect."

Our connection surged, a column of water sprouting around Greninja. Inside, his dark form was constantly moving and his red eyes flashed. The top of the water tornado struck the ceiling, shaking the cavern.

"Let's not bring the place down on us," I warned. "Now, release!"

Greninja rushed the tornado forwards into the enemy Pokemon, the water around him exploding outwards, blasting away the Scrafty, Mightyena, Golbat, and Honchkrow. The water came rushing back, forming his cloak and weapons as he flipped backwards.

As a bolt of lightning arced towards him, I shouted, "Thrust your blade into the ground!"

Greninja slammed a water blade into the ground, cracking the ice as he leaped backwards. The water blade acted as a conductor, attracting the lightning to it. Greninja slid backwards, two shurikens forming in his hands.

"What is that Greninja!?" The admin yelled in surprise.

"He is," I shook my head. "No. _We_ are the Kage-Shinobi. Water Shuriken!"

Greninja spun the shurikens in his hands, charging forwards, the weapons growing bigger and sharper. He slid to a stop, using his momentum to throw them. One took down Golbat while the other blasted Liepard backwards.

"Honchkrow," the admin growled. "Wing Attack!"

"Don't forget about Mawile!" I shouted, the Fairy type leaping above Honchkrow. "Fairy Wind!"

Mawile swung her jaw, the blast of pink wind sending the Dark type crashing to the ground.

"Play Rough!" I yelled. "Greninja, Night Slash on Manectric!"

"High Jump Kick!"

"Crunch!"

"Discharge!"

As Greninja descended on Manectric, the Electric type unleashed a dome of electricity and at the same time Scrafty was aiming for Greninja's left side and Mightyena for his right.

"Hydro Shield!" I shouted.

Greninja swung his cloak off of him, stretching it around him, expanding as he did. All three moves collided with it, causing the bubbles to explode outwards. The Discharge fizzled out as Scrafty was made to faint midair and crash to the ground. Mightyena flew backwards into his trainer, sending him and the grunt sliding away.

"Alex!" I shouted over to her. She was busy handling the last couple grunts and their Pokemon with most of her Pokemon out. "Where's the scientist!?"

Alex shook her head and I looked over where Robert was. He must've heard me shout because he shook his head as well.

The Admin withdrew her fainted Honchkrow while her Manectric bounded to her side. "And the penny drops. We got what we came here for grunts! Let's go!"

"Greninja!" I shouted, but several grunts threw small objects on the ground, smoke releasing into the air, obscuring the grunts. I heard them all rush towards the exit, but there was no way I could pursue. Unless...

I closed my eyes, letting our senses become one. We ran side-by-side, the process jarring and I nearly missed tripping over chunks of ice. Then we were out of the smoke and I could see Team Flare running through the dark tunnel, their flashlights letting me see again, but they were far up ahead.

"C'mon," I growled, sprinting after them, Greninja getting ahead of me a little. I felt a surge of energy that nearly made me lose my balance, but I kept running. I could see daylight ahead, the light white from the snow.

"Quick Attack!" I grunted.

Greninja sped ahead, bouncing off the tunnel walls for momentum. He collided with the back of a grunt, bringing her down. He leapt forwards, hitting a grunt in the side of the head. I could hear a loud noise now, like that of a motor.

"Stop them!" I shouted, but Greninja was only able to bring down a couple more grunts and Pokemon before I heard the noise of a helicopter lifting off. I burst out of the cave and knee deep into snow to see a cargo helicopter rising in the sky, the blue haired scientist waving down at me with a smile on her face. The force of the chopper blade blew snow into my face, nearly making me fall backwards as the helicopter flew over the mountains and out of sight.

I slammed a fist into the snow, Greninja coming up to my side, laying a hand on my shoulder. Soon, we were joined by Alex, Robert, and Mawile.

"Where they go?" Robert asked, looking around as he and Alex surveyed the grunts and Pokemon Greninja managed to bring down.

"Helicopter," I shook my head. "They got away with the Frozen Light. If what we came up with is their actual goal, then we just let them get away with the one thing that will power the Ultimate Weapon."

"I'll contact Looker," Robert said, walking a couple feet away as he powered up his Holo Castor. "He'll need to know this information, plus these grunts need to be arrested."

"We win some and lose some," Alex said, kneeling down next to me, offering a small smile.

"We lost against them in our last encounter, remember," I said bitterly. "Radiance got away with Volcanion and Flare got away with information from them."

"Well," Alex struggled for a moment, then sighed. "You're not going to give up, are you?"

I looked at the ground for a moment, then chuckled. "Of course not."

"There we go," Alex slapped me on the back as we both stood. "I mean, we are the Defenders of Order now."

"I came up with the name," Robert raised his hand, back to us. "Remember that!"

Alex and I both laughed and I smiled at her gratefully. Team Flare may have gotten away with a powerful artifact, but that only meant we would have to step up our game.

...

"So, um," Robert looked back at us after a couple minutes. "We'll have to stay here and make sure no grunt escapes until the International Police arrive..."

I groaned and Alex let out her Pyroar. "Okay, starting a fire then."

"Should have rope in my backpack," I shrugged it off, looking through it. "Greninja, Robert, help me tie them up. Mawile, feel free to knock them unconscious again if they wake up before we can finish."

She nodded and we got to work as the day stretched on, snow still falling lightly around us.

**Huh. I'm noticing that I'm able to write longer chapter than usual now. Generally regular filler/plot chapters like this stay in the 2000-3000 word range. This is 4000 plus. Also why it takes longer to write. Anyway, something came up the other day and I am in the process of editing a future story idea, but all's good, no worries. Still busy with school and unfortunately for me, it won't be ending until near the middle of June, cause my school sucks. Fun. Toodles**


	48. Chapter 46: Talking of the Past

"WE SHOULD'VE WAITED A COUPLE DAYS!" Robert shouted over the roar of the wind, the blizzard intense.

"WE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A CHOICE!" I yelled back to him, squinting through the seemingly endless white.

"WE ALREADY LOST THE PATH!" Alex struggled forwards, clasping her hand onto my shoulder, all of us barely being able to trudge through the snow. "WHAT NOW!?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" I couldn't see my own breath through the blizzard anymore. The temperature in this mountain getting colder, Arcanine, Pyroar, and Ninetales the three Pokemon the only things keeping us warm. In these extreme conditions, we didn't want to waste their energy by trying to melt the snow around us completely, as the blizzard was still going strong.

"WHY DIDN'T THEY HAVE ANY MAMOSWINES AGAIN!?" Alex shouted, and despite being right next to me, still sounded muted.

"BECAUSE WE'RE STILL IN THE SUMMER SEASON!" Robert yelled up to us. "IT'S NEVER REALLY THIS BAD APPARENTLY! THIS KIND OF WEATHER IS RARE DURING THIS TIME OF YEAR!"

"OH, I'M FEELING SO LUCKY RIGHT NOW!" I took another step forwards, only to find myself slipping. "WOAH!"

"ZENO!" Alex shouted, grabbing onto my arm. I dug my elbow into the snow, my feet trying to dig into the snow covered hill that sloped down. Arcanine barged through the snow, melting it as he went past. However, that only made things worse. The snow melted around our feet as he moved to help grab me with his mouth and Alex ended up slipping on puddles of water. I felt myself go weightless, then slammed into the snow, rolling downhill.

I tried digging my elbows into the snow, barely managing to slow myself down, seeing something else rolling down towards me. Alex. She slammed into me, sending us both tumbling down faster. As we rolled, I could see the occasional flicker of flames heading for us. I heard something big slide past us and grab onto me. Suddenly I was weightless, feeling very warm. I turned my head to see Arcanine's face, the back of my coat in his mouth as he skidded down the hill, running to gain control. Ninetales was here as well, Alex in her maw.

Arcanine began sliding, trying to regain control. Whatever happened after that I didn't remember, everything suddenly going black.

...

I drifted in and out of consciousness, until finally I was alert enough to hear the crackling and popping of fire. I opened my eyes, a small fire to my left, the heat feeling good on my face, I tried to move, but a huge lump of fur was pushed up against my right side. I breathed in, smiling as I recognized Arcanine.

I sat up, feeling hard stone wall against my back. I looked around and sure enough, we were in a cave.

"Oh thank Arceus you're awake," Alex rushed over, grasping my hand.

"Yeah," I smiled, then groaned, feeling my head. "How long was I out for?"

"A couple hours tops, I think," Alex didn't look very sure. Her coat was ripped in several places, Ninetales padding over to sit beside her trainer to keep her warm. I looked down at my own self, realizing my clothes had taken a beating too.

"I think I'm bruised in a couple places," I said, twinging as I pressed on my side. "Scratch that, I am. I don't think it's too bad."

"It isn't," Alex said quickly, looking away, a light blush spreading along her face.

I looked past her to the cave entrance, the blizzard still ongoing. "It doesn't seem like it's going to stop anytime soon. Looks like we'll have to stay here a while." I looked around the cave. "Where's Robert?"

Alex shook her head. "I don't know. I'm pretty sure he didn't fall with us and I'm hoping Pyroar stayed with him."

Arcanine shifted, head looming over me and he gave me a big lick.

I wiped away his slobber, chuckling. "Yeah, thanks Buddy. You saved me back there."

He woofed, laying his head back down.

"Hopefully it'll all blow over by tomorrow," Alex said, leaning against the wall beside me. "Hey, how long until the Kalos league tournament?"

I scrunched my face, trying to remember. "Clemont said about 3 weeks when we last saw them, right? So I'd say around 2 weeks, give or take."

"Well, we'd better hurry," Alex chuckled. "We have a lot on our plate to deal with," she lifted her hand, counting off with her fingers. "2 more gym badges, Team Radiance, Team Flare, the Cult of Chaos, and literally whatever else is out there waiting to screw us over."

I laughed, smiling. "Yeah, life seems to always want to ruin our day huh."

"So," I asked after minutes of silence. "This takes me back."

"The cave on Exeggutor Island," Alex seemed to be on the same wavelength as me. "Yeah, I remember. It's where you essentially rejected me, friend zoning me."

"Um," I didn't really know how to respond to that, but then Alex punched my shoulder.

"I'm just kidding," she was smiling, laughter in her eyes. "Lighten up a little."

"Yeah, okay," I nodded, leaning my head back.

A couple more minutes passed. Then, "I meant what I said then."

I looked at her, waiting for an explanation. She took a deep breath. "I didn't care how long I would have to wait and be by your side, waiting. Because I loved you..."

"But now?" I asked, feeling conflicting emotions.

"Now," Alex shook her head, pulling her knees in as close as she could. "I like you Zeno, but I'm not sure about my emotions enough to know for sure if it's love. During those 6 months after Alola, I had time to think. I know we definitely rushed our relationship, especially when you were revived, I just let my emotions control me, not really trying to understand them."

"It's just," she looked down. "We both share similar pasts, having families that weren't good for us, no matter how we try to justify it."

"Alex," I bit my lip, unsure, then went for it. "What exactly happened with you and your family?"

Alex stayed silent for a minute, then spoke. "They were fine during my early childhood. But then they lost their jobs and things went downhill from there. Both mom and dad got angrier, more prone to losing their temper. They got into drinking and drugs, beat me and my brother. I took most of it, I had to stick up for my brother anyway I could."

"I didn't know you had a brother," I said.

"Yeah," Alex's eyes seemed distant. "Hartley. He's only a year younger than me. He was always the good child, rarely the one they focused their anger towards. Me on the other hand, I let myself get blamed for anything he did wrong and was pretty rebellious." she sighed. "One time I was nearly beaten to death. I have a scar on my right side from a shard of glass. That was because I had tried to leave home. No one found out about that until the second time I tried running away, beaten again, but this time Hartley was able to call for help."

Alex rubbed her arm and I put a comforting hand over hers. It took a moment for her to realize I did that, so she smiled at me and squeezed my hand. "I recovered by the time my parents were sent to jail. Hartley and I were sent into foster care, but since I was old enough, I got a Pokemon and set out into the world. Alola ended up to be the place for me, since I was able to meet so many new friends."

"I did a bit of researching before we left Alola and found out my parents had been released from jail," Alex went on. "I thought, since you were leaving to make things right with your father, I should try reconciling with my parents. It was fine for a while, I visited them on occasion, catching up with my brother where he lived. Even got him over to see my parents," Alex closed her eyes. "Once I tried living there with them, that's when things went downhill again. Began demanding more of me, blaming me for all their troubles. Eventually, I just got fed up and left before they resorted to violence again."

"And I ended up here in Kalos," she finished. "My brother didn't want me to leave again, but Hoenn isn't my home anymore. I'm glad I left though," she looked at me. "Because I was able to be reunited with my friends."

I held out my arm and she accepted as I pulled her into a hug. "We're a family. You, me, Robert, all our Pokemon. And I think that's a family better than what you grew up with."

"Yeah," her voice was muffled as she held me tight.

When she pulled away, I said, "Since we were talking about it, I guess it's only fair to share what happened during the time I returned home."

Alex sat cross-legged now, listening.

"Giovanni," I started. "He knew he couldn't change me at that point, but he didn't care about what I had to say either. I don't even know why I was fooling myself, but I had to try. He gave me one option though. If I could find and take down various Team Rocket bases in Kanto and Johto, he would consider ending Team Rocket entirely."

"By yourself!?" Alex sounded shocked.

"Well, I think that was his intention," I shook my head. "Wear me down and bring me back into the fold someway or another. But I found help."

"Who?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Funnily enough," I cracked a smile. "My brother."

...

_ "Was told I could find you here," I said, leaning forwards on the railing, overlooking both Kanto and Johto, the gates to the Indigo League behind me. "Heard you stole a Pokemon from Elm's Pokemon Lab."_

_"Heard you were a trained assassin," the teen next to me said indifferently. "And that you were the one who caused the Goldenrod Incident," he turned his dark eyes on me. "What? Father decide he doesn't like me being out on my own?"_

_"I don't think he even cares," I shook my head. "Look, I changed, a lot. I only came back because I'm trying to make things right with him."_

_He snorted. "Good luck with that," he turned his head to look back at the city below, the sun setting in the distance. "So, what do you want then, Zeno?"_

_"Your help," I looked at him, standing straighter. "There's a chance that I can end Team Rocket. Giovanni has tasked me with trying to take down all the bases here in Kanto and Johto."_

_"You realize there's barely any chance at all he's telling the truth, right?" he glanced at me._

_"Yeah," I shrugged. "But even so, what would be the harm? We would still be taking down Team Rocket. What do we have to lose?"_

_He sighed deeply, deep in thought. Finally, he stood, his Feraligatr lumbering over to his side. "Alright, fine then, brother."_

_He shook his head, grinning. "Been a while since we really got to hang out. Where do we start?"_

_I shrugged. "I was hoping you could tell me. I know of a couple of places, sure, but not enough of Johto's side."_

_"Fine," he put his hand on my shoulder. "On the way, you can tell me all about how you went through this whole personality change."_

_"Fine fine," I grinned, which he seemed surprised by. "Hey, thanks for helping me, Silver."_

_Silver ran his hand through his dark red hair, straightening his jacket. "What are brothers for, even if one was a murderous assassin."_

...

"Silver huh," Alex shook her head. "What kind of name is that?"

"Don't really know," I laughed. "Anyway, we spent most of our time tracking down Team Rocket from intel I barely remembered and places he thought he saw Team Rocket at before. In the end, we never did get them all, though Giovanni probably wouldn't have cared either way. After returning to Team Rocket's headquarters for a brief period, I met up with Jessie, James, and Meowth and came here."

I thought for a second, then added, "Oh, Silver is my half-brother. Pretty sure we don't have the same mother."

"For someone like Giovanni, that makes sense," Alex shook her head. "Look, back to what we were talking about before our pasts," she took a deep breath. "I want to know if my feelings for you are real, so at some point, I want to become more than friends."

"I..." I leaned my head back. "I do too. We have a good thing going here, but maybe it'll become more," I grasped her hand. "Let's just let continue on our journey, making friends, seeing new places, and become even greater friends, alright?"

"Sounds good to me," Alex nodded, yawning. "Man, I'm tired."

"We should get some rest," I winced as I stood. "Me especially." I grabbed my backpack and pulled it closer, digging out some food we could eat without too much trouble. "Here."

"Thanks," Alex accepted the food and after we ate, lay with our Pokemon for the warmth and comfort.

...

"Zeno," Alex shook me awake. "Zeno."

"What?" I said, instantly alert, sitting up, trying not to wince at the pain in my side.

"Look," she said.

Around us in the cave were Pokemon. There were two Abomasnows, a couple of Snovers, Sneasels, a Delibird, and two different types of Pokemon that I didn't recognize.

"What's going on?" I asked, getting up. Arcanine and Ninetales were already up, both looking slightly agitated.

"I don't know," Alex looked as confused as I felt.

One of the Pokemon I didn't recognize flew over to Alex. It looked like a Ice Bug type Pokemon with flowing wings and beautiful blue and white eyes with long eyelashes. Two soft looking antenna floated from her head and she looked like she was wearing a fur coat. She let out a sound like that of wind chimes, but softer and more mysterious sounding.

"I think she wants us to follow her," Alex said and the Bug Pokemon smoothly floated over to the cave entrance, looking back at us. Alex and I shared a look, deciding on the same thing. In less than a minute, we had our things gathered.

Thankfully the blizzard had stopped, but the snow outside was still a over a foot thick. A river roared somewhere to our left and the Bug Pokemon gently flew ahead of us.

"Here," I helped Alex onto Arcanine's back and Ninetales ran alongside us. Whatever was agitating all these Pokemon couldn't be good. My suspicions were confirmed when far on the other side of the river, right in front of one of the snow covered mountains, a blast of energy shot into the sky.

"What is that?" Alex wondered.

"No idea," I looked at our guide and sure enough she was crossing over the river. "But we need to find a way across this river. Whatever's going on over there can't be good."

...

"What was that?" Eve demanded.

Kamake was busy tapping on her device, forehead creased. "Energy became too unstable, had to be released in order for both to remain synced."

"Damn," Eve ran over to the computer monitor, checking the outside area. "Something like that was bound to be seen," she whirled around, pointing at Enzo. "Form a couple squads. I don't want anyone coming to investigate around this area. Look out for Zeno and his friends especially. They tend to show up when they're not wanted."

She turned to the computer monitoring the vitals and syncing process, both hands clenched on the table they sat on. _"C'mon. We're so close. No one will interfere with this, I won't let them. I will bring you back for sure, mother."_

**So more was learned of Alex's past and what Zeno was up to during that 6 month period between HBoD and LDOC. I'm not planning on doing really any flashbacks focusing on both Zeno and Silver, but who knows? I might always end up doing that anyway. Also, we're nearing the end of what I call the Life Arc, where Zeno and Alex race to where Team Radiance's secret base lies. Will Cassandra, the deceased former leader of Team Radiance be revived? Who knows. With me, as you all know, anything and everything is possible. So until then my wonderful readers! Toodles!**


	49. Chapter 47: The Resurrection Pt 1

"Thanks, Vespiquen," Alex returned her Pokemon, who managed to fly us both over the river. The moth-looking Pokemon was waiting for us, turning to look into the pine forest covered with snow. Beyond that was a mountain range, straight ahead where the energy beam came from.

"Let's go," Alex said, teeth chattering. "I want to get this over with. It's freezing."

"Agreed," I looked around. I felt uneasy, as if expecting an ambush. I let out Lucario. "Keep your aura on high alert. We don't know what we're going to find out here."

He nodded, looking uneasy himself, like all the Pokemon in the cave. Whatever was going on was seriously upsetting the Pokemon in this area.

"Ninetales," Alex let out her signature Pokemon. "If an enemy appears, try not to burn down the forest. I don't need government officials trying to make me pay for damages to nature."

We set off after the Bug Pokemon guiding us into the pine forest, everything oddly tranquil. I stopped, Greninja lowering into a crouch. Alex turned around, keeping her back to me as she scanned our surroundings.

"Lucario," I warned, then the snow around us moved. People wearing snow white camo gear rose from snowbanks, pure white pokeballs in their hands. A blast of cold wind shot towards us, but Greninja intercepted it with a Water Pulse.

"Tch," I looked around, estimating half a dozen grunts. "It was an ambush," my eye caught on a symbol on each of their camo uniforms, a circle with both halves white and gray. "Radiance."

"We can't let you continue further," a grunt stepped forward, a Crabominable lumbering up next to him. "Boss' orders. You may be the Hero Born of Darkness, but we'll do what we can to slow you down."

"Well," Alex held up another pokeball, Ninetales getting ready to fight beside her. "We would like to have a word with Eve ourselves, so it would be best to get out of the way."

An Arcanine, Florges, two Ribombees, Flareon, Vikavolt, and that Crabominable were our opponents by the looks of things, not to mention the grunts.

I pulled my knife from my belt, pressing my thumb against the Keystone. "Lucario!"

Lucario howled, aura blasting around us as he mega evolved.

"Power-Up Punch!" I shouted, pointing at the Crabominable.

"Ninetales," Alex shouted while throwing her pokeball in the air. "Extrasensory!"

Lucario slammed Crabominable backwards, both of them crashing through a snowbank. Ninetale's psychic attack forced the enemy Arcanine back into a tree, snow from the branches collapsing atop of her. Alex's Vespiquen appeared in front of her, ready to attack.

"Pin Missile!" she shouted and several projectiles shot from beneath Vespiquen and crashed into both Ribombees.

"Mawile," I yelled when I released her from her Pokeball, dodging a grunt's fist. "Iron Head!"

Grabbing the grunt by his shoulders, I swung him around and slammed him into a tree. Cold snow fell on me, distracting me for just a second, enough time for the main grunt to slam me into the tree as well, his hands closing around my throat. My head spun and my oxygen supply reduced.

"We're not going to kill you," he grunted. He lost in camo cap when he slammed into me, revealing strawberry blonde hair, his blue eyes set with determination. "Hero Born of Darkness, we're not your enemies, I assure you of that!"

I gripped both of his wrist, slowly prying his hands from my throat. His face tightened as he resisted me. "Shut... Up!"

I swung his arms away and kicked him in the chest, making him stumble back a few steps. He groaned, holding where I kicked him, then looked up. "I bet you see us as all the same to you. Just mindless grunts following orders," he raised his head, straightening his posture, raising his fists. "We all have our different opinions and we fight for what we believe is right!"

He ran forwards, swinging his fists. I blocked two, but one caught me in the jaw. It was a glancing blow, but I still was knocked back a step.

"We're not mindless servants wearing the same uniform and following orders blindly," He was breathing hard, eyes focused entirely on my movements. "We united under a purpose. Some may be doing this for the wrong choices, but there are still good intentions. We did what we thought was right and we continue to do so. Don't look at us as if we're all the same!"

I caught his arm the with the next punch he threw, pulling him forwards and slamming my elbow into his stomach, then grabbing the front of his coat and pulled him to the ground.

"It doesn't matter who you all are," I said, standing. "What you are doing is wrong. Bringing back Cassandra may seem righteous, but what are you doing to Xerneas and Volcanion to do so?"

Alex and our Pokemon were finishing up the battle, so I started to head over to help.

The grunt coughed behind me, rising to his hands and knees, breathing hard. "You don't see the whole picture. You just see us as villains. Pretty rich coming from someone like you."

I stopped, looking back at him. "What?"

He shook his head, getting to his feet and turning away from me. "You'll see. Just remember, we're not all faceless grunts."

I stared at him as he limped away into the pine forest. Alex came up to me a second later, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Zeno?"

I jolted, shaken from my own thoughts. "Sorry, what?"

"You okay?" she asked.

"I..." I shook my head. "Yeah, I'm okay. Let's get going," I looked around. "Where'd that Pokemon go?"

Alex shrugged. "Don't know. The mountains are that way," she pointed deeper into the pine forest. "So heading that way would be best."

I nodded, Lucario and Mawile coming over. Mawile seemed more exhausted, so I put her away into her pokeball to rest. "Can you still fight, Lucario?"

He growled and I nodded. "Good. How are your Pokemon?"

Vespiquen and Ninetales both shook themselves to show they were fine and Alex grinned. "Ready to fight."

We continued through the forest, the mountains getting closer and closer.

"What was the grunt talking about?" Alex asked finally.

I stayed silent for a couple more steps, then said, "Grunts."

"What?" Alex looked confused now.

"I know they're all grunts," I hated how I had to think about this, but I felt as if it needed to be thought about. "But they're also individual people. People with they're own minds. That's what he was talking about..." I spoke again after another couple seconds. "Alex, what was Team Radiance's goal exactly in Alola?"

"To have the Shadow cover Alola and the world in darkness?" she offered, but I shook my head. "Before they knew about the Shadow."

Alex tapped her chin. "Cassandra did mention when we first met her about wanting to have Alola shine brightly again, so they wanted to get rid of Team Skull. Rival gangs basically, though I guess Radiance is more of an organization. How that lead her to make a deal with someone called the "Shadow", I'll never know."

"Sweet promises," my mouth twitched. "I would know. But... They're original plan was to bring light into a dark world. Sure it changed, but that's because Cassandra went off the deep end," I looked at Alex. "How can we be sure what Radiance is doing now is bad? Eve even said way back that her plans here in Kalos wouldn't be dangerous."

Alex pondered for a minute, then said, "I don't think we can. But, having dealt with them before, don't you agree it's better to go see first? If they try to stop us, we deal with them."

"Yeah," I nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

"Aren't I always," she grinned and I chuckled.

"Sure," I shook my head, smiling.

"Look at you two," a man with short, jet-black hair stepped out from behind a tree in a black jumpsuit. "What a happy couple."

"Enzo," Alex said and I looked around to see more Radiance grunts surrounding us again.

"Turn back now," he said, sharp face always making him seem like he was glaring. "Or you will be dealt with here and now."

"We just want to talk," I said. "Let us see what you're doing won't harm anyone and we won't intervene."

He shook his head. "This is a matter of pride, Zeno." his gaze was cold as the snow around us. "The Hero Born of Darkness will not interfere with Team Radiance's plans, not like before."

"We'll have to fight after all then," Alex warned, Ninetales staring at the grunts behind us and Vespiquen in front. Lucario was beside me, focused on Enzo.

"We won at the Power Plant," he let out his Cofagrigus and Runerigus, who's ghostly arms floated in front of them. "And we'll make sure to do so again."

As I slid back a foot, ready for whatever was coming, I was made aware of a distant thrumming sound. The grunts around us looked into the sky and I looked as well and to my surprise saw a Helicopter heading towards us. It flew over us, then turned sharply, lowering as it came back towards us. Then something leaped from it when it was practically on top of us, a Pokemon slamming into the snow.

"The cavalry has arrived!" Robert declared atop Pyroar, grinning back at us. "How's everyone doing?"

"Robert!?" Alex and I both exclaimed. "How-!?"

"Gardevoir."

Blasts of pink energy slammed into several enemy Pokemon, including Enzo's Ghost types. There standing next to Pyroar and Robert was someone in a black trench with a matching hat. She looked back at us as well when her Gardevoir teleported next to her, tilting her black-tinted glasses to reveal blue irises.

"Diantha?" I was confused now, but also worried. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be-"

"Zeno," she cut me off. "There's no time for that. I don't know the details, but something's going on here. Whatever it is, go, you, Alex, and Robert go. I can handle everyone here."

I opened my mouth to argue, but Alex shook her head and grabbed my hand. "Best not to argue with the Champion right now. Let's go."

Diantha nodded at me, then turned back to Enzo. "While Team Radiance may not have done much to Kalos as have other sinister organizations, I cannot allow a group such as you to continue residing in Kalos," she grasped her pendent, a brilliant light surrounding it and her Gardevoir. "I will make sure you are stopped here and now!"

"Robert," I said once he caught up with us, looking back to see Diantha's Mega Gardevoir. "Is she okay?"

Robert paused for a second, then nodded. "She seems frailer, but she's still plenty powerful by the looks of it. I mean, she ins't the Kalos Champion for nothing."

"How did you even find us anyway?" Alex asked as we ran.

"That beacon of energy seemed to be a dead giveaway," Robert grinned. "Pyroar and I had made it to Anistar to get away from the blizzard and we were planning on coming back down to find you both when I came across Diantha."

"What is she doing here for?" I asked.

"She said something about having to ask the gym leader of Anistar an important question," Robert answered. "I had gotten to mentioning what happened to you two when we saw that beam. Diantha got us a helicopter and here we are. Now," Robert shook his head. "Can someone explain to me what's going on with Team Radiance?"

"No idea," Alex said as the pine trees began thinning and we could see the rocky bottom of the mountain ahead. "But whatever they're doing it's upset the Pokemon in the area."

"Possibly they mean to bring Cassandra back now," I put in. "I don't know what exactly they're doing to achieve that, but if it's something unforgivable, we stop them."

"Business as usual," Robert sighed, smiling. "Let's get cracking then."

We came to a stop at the edge of the mountain, looking around. There didn't seem to be a cave entrance anywhere nearby.

Robert pulled out a device. "Hold on. I'll trace the energy signal back to-"

"No need," Alex pointed at a creature floating above what seemed to be a path leading up the mountain. It was the Bug Pokemon from earlier. "We'll just have to follow her."

Running after the Pokemon, I sent Lucario on ahead up the path to scout. After a minute, we spotted a cave. Lucario was waiting for us at the entrance.

"They're in there?" I asked and he nodded. "Okay, prepare for a fight. But if we can avoid it, I would like to."

"Hold up," Robert pointed his Pokedex at the Bug Pokemon. "I want to scan this one."

"Frosmoth, the Frost Moth Pokemon. It shows no mercy to any who desecrate fields and mountains. It will fly around on its icy wings, causing a blizzard to chase offenders away."

"Discovered in the Galar region," Robert noted. "Guess some may have gotten over here to Kalos."

"Interesting," Alex was looking at the Pokedex.

"Hey, we have a mission here you know," I reminded them, Lucario and I already heading into the cave. Lanterns hung from the wall, providing light. Then the tunnel gave way to a massive chamber. Machines stood against the cavern walls and Radiance members were everywhere, most focused on the machines. Two giant cylinder tanks stood next to each other across the room, one holding what I recognized as Xerneas in her ancient tree form and the other...

"Cassandra," I whispered, not being able to recognize her from this distance, but I knew that misshapen form had to be her.

"Correct," Eve said, stepping forwards in a bright red-orange jumpsuit, signature clothing of Team Radiance, the half sun and half moon shown clearly at the top of her left arm. "I won't let you stop me, Zeno."

I felt a tingle zap down my spine and I looked up to see a Pokemon clinging to a stalactite above. Zeraora bared his fangs before leaping downwards, drawing back a fist brimming with blue electricity.

**Hmm, part 1 of 2. Debating whether I should start writing the second part or write another chapter of Dark... Decisions decisions... Anyway, it's probably high time I got to editing HBoD. Fixing all those tiny little mistakes I've made, maybe polishing certain scenes, who knows. I'll try and look at each individual chapter. So, until the next update, whether it's for this or Dark. Toodles!**


	50. Chapter 48: The Resurrection Pt 2

Lucario jumped in front of me, raising his fist to meet Zeraora's, only to be hit in the side and sent crashing into the wall. The ice around him cracked and he reverted out of his mega form, collapsing forwards.

"Eve," I said, but Zeraora was in front of me now, fangs bared. I watched as a few sparks of electricity ran along his maw, then glanced back up at Eve. "I don't want to fight, not unless I have to."

"Good," she said, turning her back on me. "Then you and your friends can stay right there. I have to finish this."

"Eve," Robert walked forwards, but Zeraora held out a paw, claws extending, so he stopped moving, but kept talking. "We know you're trying to bring Cassandra back. But if what you're going to do to accomplish that will hurt Xerneas and Volcanion, we can't allow that."

Eve stopped walking, then, "Zeraora."

The Mythical Pokemon stepped back, his electricity dying away, but he was still wary. The leader of Team Radiance turned around and sighed. "Do you mean that?"

Robert looked confused. "Uh, yeah?"

Eve shook her head and waved her hand. "Follow me."

Zeraora closed his maw and began following her. Looking at my friends in confusion, we did the same after I returned Lucario to his pokeball.

"In the beginning I only had hatred towards you," Eve said. "I thought I would do whatever it took to get revenge and bring my mother back." She stopped in front of the tank containing her mother, nodding at Kamake who stood next to a console. "Everything stable?"

Kamake nodded, tapping a few keys on her tablet. "Yes. Vitals are stable?"

"Vitals?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow. "She has vitals."

"Not..." Eve pursed her lip. "Not Cassandra. Xerneas."

"Xer-?" Alex looked at the tank near Cassandra's, the white ancient tree floating inside clear liquid.

"We've been taking care not to harm her," Eve said, walking over to the tank and placing her hand on the glass. "That release of energy only happened so we could keep her stable."

"What about Volcanion?" I asked.

"Not one to miss anything huh?" Eve smiled drily and motioned for us to follow her again. We went to a metal door framed on the wall, the ice cracked around it. She nodded at a grunt and he pressed a couple buttons on a keypad mounted next to it. With a hiss, the door opened, steam releasing. The door was pulled all the way open and inside was a smaller room, but plenty big for the Pokemon inside.

Volcanion rested inside in a pool of water, steam filling the entire room. He looked much healthier than he had back at the Power Plant and didn't have a single wire attached to his body.

"I realized something during my time here," Eve said, a smile on her face now. "Team Radiance was originally created for a good purpose. Somewhere along the way, Cassandra's way of seeing that got twisted. Now, I mean to bring Radiance's old ideals back."

"So you exchanged information with Flare to obtain Volcanion," Robert's eyes widened as realization spread across his face. "Not to use him for easy energy to power your machines, but to save him."

She nodded. "Exactly. We did ask Volcanion ourselves if he could spare any energy. If he had refused, we wouldn't."

"And you never thought to inform us of your newfound goodness?" I asked her directly.

Eve smirked. "Would you have honestly believed us? Would this have gone any other way? You just travel around, seeing yourselves as heroes who stop the bad guys. I couldn't change that. Even now I bet there's a part of you thinking this is all a trick and that I'm actually doing something evil here."

She closed the metal door. "Volcanion's only staying here for as long as he needs to. And we'll stay to protect him."

"What about Cassandra?" Alex jerked a thumb back at the tanks. "How does this not affect Xerneas?"

"It does affect her," Eve said, then clarified. "But it doesn't harm her. She already gives off powerful Life energy just by existing. And when she revived your Greninja, it was only amplified. We are simply just gathering up the stray energy and storing up power."

"But why?" I asked. "Why bring Cassandra back? She's gone. And what if it doesn't work?"

"Zeno," Eve said softly. "Have you lost people you've loved?"

I took a step back, memories of Willow surfacing. I didn't answer, which Eve took as a yes.

"If you had a chance to bring them back," she bowed her head, hand pressed up against the tank that held her deceased mother. "Wouldn't you at least try?" She turned to look at me in the eyes. "You had Greninja returned to you. All I'm doing is asking for the same. What makes one life more precious than another?"

I didn't have an answer for her, as the words struck me in my very core. The lives I had ended, I had no right to do so. That was one thing I didn't think could ever be forgiven, nor did I deserve it.

"Even if this fails," Eve gripped a fist. "I at least hope I can say my goodbyes this time."

"Eve," Kamake said, walking forwards.

"Is it time?" she asked.

Kamake nodded and Eve said, "Keep Xerneas stable. We don't want to endanger her. If it comes to having to choose, save Xerneas."

"Ma'am," a grunt came running up. "The Champion is coming."

"Diantha's here?" Eve seemed surprised.

"I'll go explain," Alex volunteered and ran for the exit to intercept Diantha.

"If I see anything go wrong at all," I said, meeting Eve's gaze. "I'm going to shut this down however I have to."

"Fair," she nodded and looked back at the blue-haired Technical Officer. "Start."

A few keys were pressed and the tank Cassandra's remains were suspended in began to glow blue. Bubbles shot upwards, clouding the water. Several machines hooked up to it hummed gently, growing in intensity.

"Everything's stable," Kamake noted.

As soon as the words left her mouth, one of the machines sparked and the screen cracked.

"Zeraora," Eve said and her Mythical Pokemon leaped forwards, pressing his paws on the machine, absorbing stray electricity. The cavern shook slightly and I could feel energy in the air. A blue aura surrounded the tank, the bubbles increasing. Eve pressed her hand to her mouth, eyes hopeful. I looked at the tank Xerneas was in and saw that nothing was going on in there.

"What is this?" a voice asked from behind us. I turned to see Diantha stepping forwards with Alex coming up beside her. The Kalos Champion looked tired, but she tried to hide it, her Gardevoir also at her side.

"We'll see," Robert said, studying the machines with practiced eyes.

The glass cracked, fissures spreading across the tank.

"Kamake," Eve whipped her head to look at her.

Kamake's expression was tight as she concentrated on her tablet. "Nearly there... NOW!"

A grunt on standby pressed a button and the humming noise ceased, the blue aura dying away. Cracking sounds were heard in the silence that followed, then nothing. The blue water inside was murky, a form barely visible within. Eve stepped closer, almost hesitantly, and pressed a hand against the glass. Then a hand within the water pressed up against the glass right where Eve's hand was. Eve gasped and stepped back, then shouted, "Get her out of there!"

"No way," I heard Alex breathe behind me. "They actually did it..."

The water began to drain from inside and a section of the glass pushed outwards. Eve rushed forwards, draping a large towel over the figure laying inside. An actual person, her red hair vibrant as her daughter's. It had felt different when Xerneas brought back Greninja. More right. This... this felt different, more unnatural. But... did that make it wrong?

"Mother," Eve spoke gently, hand brushing Cassandra's cheek as she cradled her head in her lap. The woman stirred, eyelids fluttering wildly. She lifted her shaking hand, trying to reach for her daughter. Then she gasped as her body convulsed violently, a scream ripping from her lips.

"MOTHER!" Eve shouted, trying to keep Cassandra still. She turned her head. "Kamake!"

Kamake stepped forwards, sticking a needle into Cassandra's neck. The woman spasmed for a couple more seconds before settling, her body shaking. After several minutes, Cassandra's eyes opened once more, focusing in on Eve.

"You..." her voice was weak and ragged. "Eve?"

"Yes," a couple of tears fell from her. "Yes, it's me, Mom."

"Hah," Cassandra breathed softly. "Where am I? It's freezing."

Eve made a point to glare at a grunt and he hurriedly went over to a machine, turning up a knob. The air got much warmer and Cassandra sighed in relief.

"Much better..." she tried to move, only to groan. "This... doesn't feel right."

"It's okay mother," Eve whispered. "It'll be okay. You're safe now."

"What happened?" she asked, trying to lift her hand.

Eve clasped her mother's hand. "That doesn't matter now."

"No..." Cassandra shook her head as much as she could, expression becoming strained. "I..." Her eyes widened and she choked out, "Shadow!"

Her hands flung to her head, holding it in agony. "Shadow Shadow Shadow Shadow! WHY!?"

"Calm down," Eve tried to get her to stop, but to no avail.

"Alola," Cassandra's eyes were wild. "I was supposed to save it! A new Alola, a better one! He was supposed to help me! But... but..." her voice trembled now. "Hero Born of Darkness... The ceiling... Collapsed..."

Her eyes shot to look up at her daughter and rasped, "What have you done?"

"I- I saved you!" Eve sounded as if she was holding back sobs. "Mother, I brought you back."

"He's here," Cassandra's voice shook with fear as she looked around wildly, trying to move away, but Eve prevented that. "He's coming for me!"

"Eve," Kamake stepped forwards. "Something went wrong during the revival. She isn't entirely herself."

"But-" Eve was cut off as Cassandra's gaze shot to the blue-haired scientist.

"You!" she screamed. "KAMAKE!"

"Mother," Eve held her mother close to prevent her from moving around too much. "Please, calm down. You're alive, your safe."

"Eve," Cassandra spoke, suddenly calmer and moved to embrace her daughter as best she could. "You've grown, haven't you. When was the last time I gave you the time of day?"

"That doesn't matter," Eve said gently, but her mother shook her head.

"I thought I could do it," she spoke. "I thought with his help, I could save Alola. I was a fool. My life's work was to save people and Pokemon. Where did it all go wrong..."

"Zeno," she said more loudly, more clear. I started, shocked as her eyes turned to look at me, more clear than they had been this entire time. "Hero Born of Darkness. You had to clean up my mess and paid the price. Thank you."

"I cannot be forgiven," Cassandra's body seized up and she groaned in pain. She clasped both sides of Eve's head, smiling. "Don't let my mistakes be my legacy. Don't let the darkness consume you as it did to me."

She slumped back, breathing slowing.

"Mother," Eve sobbed, hugging her tightly. "I love you." She took a deep breath, then said one last thing in a whisper. "Goodbye."

...

"What are you going to do now?" I asked Eve, who was staring ahead in a daze.

"What?" Eve shook her head, looking at me.

"What's Team Radiance's plans now?"

Eve turned to look at Diantha. "In hopes that Radiance isn't taken down, I mean to do what has always been the plan."

"And that is?" Diantha asked.

Eve gave a small smile. "Protecting others. Like what our names suggests, we will bring light wherever it is needed. Vanquishing the darkness has always been Radiance's endgame." she held out her hand to Diantha. "I see a region in peril right now, tormented by a despicable cult. We'd like to offer our assistance."

Diantha narrowed her eyes. "That won't be enough to get you out of being trialed."

"Then how about this," Eve nodded at Kamake and she stepped forwards.

"We've done some searching and we believe we know of Team Flare's whereabouts," Kamake said, showing the Champion her tablet's screen.

Diantha sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Fine, I'll let you go for now. Just don't cause trouble for me or Kalos in the future."

"Wait," Eve grabbed her wrist, studying her. "You're barely able to move about. We know what the Cult did to you." she glanced at Kamake. "And I believe we might be able to help with that."

The scientist nodded. "While the Life particles may not have fully revived Cassandra, they did mend her body. If we tweak it, we could likely purge you of whatever plagues you."

Diantha shook her head. "How can I trust you?"

"You can't," Eve smiled. "But if our goal is to bring light back into the darkness, what better way than to heal Kalos' Champion?"

Diantha was silent for ten seconds before she nodded. "Fine."

"You sure about this?" Robert asked, eyeing Team Radiance warily.

"No," Diantha smiled. "I would be a fool if I was. But," she gripped her hand and I could tell there was little strength behind it. "Whatever is in me, it continues to sap at my health. Kalos needs me more than ever, so I have nothing to lose. Besides, I have Gardevoir to protect me."

Gardevoir nodded and moved closer to her trainer.

"If I'm to stay here," Diantha looked at the three of us. "I won't be any help in taking down Team Flare. I'll contact Looker and have him contact you three. I'm afraid Kalos still needs you all."

"Don't worry," Alex waved her hand. "We're used to it by now."

Diantha gave a soft laugh. "It seems so. While you wait, I believe there's a gym badge awaiting two of you in Anistar City."

"We'll do our best," I said.

"Zeno," Eve stepped forwards to face me. "Next time we meet, I hope you'll do me the pleasure of facing me in battle."

Zeraora growled in agreement, sparks flying from his paws.

"Sure," I nodded.

"Alex," Kamake held out something for her. A golden pendent sat in her palm with a gold chain. Situated in the pendent itself was a round stone with light and dark blue curving stripes with white in the middle. "Take this."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Kamake smirked. "Because I believe Absol has been happier with you than she ever has with me."

"Wait..." Alex blinked. "Say what now?"

Kamake turned and walked away, waving her hand back at us. Alex began spluttering and Robert and I pulled her along. I looked back at Eve and Team Radiance and realized we had not parted as enemies as we usually did. This time, we parted as allies. I could only hope it stayed that way.

"Hey," Alex tugged herself from our grips. "It's Frosmoth."

She pointed at the end of the tunnel where we could see snow and light ahead. The Ice/Bug Pokemon gently floated at the exit as if it was waiting for us.

**And the Life Arc has ended. Not as climatic as some of you were probably expecting, but hey, there's plenty of that just waiting to be written. Next up is the Death Arc where Zeno, Alex, and Robert now shift their focus onto Team Flare. Anyway, Summer is finally here! No more school for several months! As I've said before, I want to try and finish LDOC before school starts up again as I will almost definitely be much more busy than ever before, but I still don't know if that's entirely possible. I'll be planning ahead, so hopefully I can do it. I want this to be a productive summer and I can only ask for your continued support. So, until the next update. Toodles!**


	51. Chapter 49: Anistar City

"So we got a few days," Robert announced, walking into the room we had rented out in the Pokemon Center in Anistar City.

"Why?" Alex was lounging on the bed, flipping through a pamphlet. "Shouldn't cracking down on Team Flare take priority."

"Unless," I sat forwards, sliding my knife back into its sheath, having been whittling a stick down to make it smooth. "The Cult."

"You guessed it," Robert snapped a finger in my direction. "There were reports of them in a marsh on Route 19, so the IP are investigating. Compared to the Cult, Team Flare can wait."

"Nothing to do but wait then," Alex sat up, crossing her legs and tossing the pamphlet behind her. "I'm down for some down time. Honestly, most of our journey has been one thing after another. It was like this in Alola too. I'm going to bet that this isn't normally what trainers do on their journeys."

"Yeah, they go about their journeys exploring new places, meeting new people, making new friends," Robert spread out his hands. "The only thing they have to worry about is having enough food when camping and training for the next battle." His hands dropped to his side dramatically. "Meanwhile we have to do that AND beat up bad guys. Things are rough for the Defenders of Order."

I cocked an eyebrow. "We're sticking with that title then?"

"Oh yeah," Robert grinned proudly. "And there's nothing you can do to change it."

"Well," Alex waved her hand to get our attention. "Since we got like two days or so, that's more than enough time to do our gym battles and explore the city a bit. It'll be best to stay here and wait for Looker to pick us up, rather than just getting our badges and leaving."

"Fair," I nodded, then pointed at the object she had tossed behind her a minute ago. "I'm guessing you were reading that pamphlet just in case we had the time to explore?"

She smirked. "Well, of course. It's best to be prepared. First though," she tapped her chin, then her face lit up. "Oh, right. Now I remember. I wanted to check in on our friends in Alola. Feels like it's been forever."

"Sure," I shrugged, hopping off my bed and stretching. "Why not."

"I take it you'll be dragging us around the city afterwards?" Robert asked innocently.

"Yes," Alex said with a straight face.

...

"Not there?" Alex asked, leaning in close to the screen.

_"Hm,"_ Professor Kukui nodded, his large fish tank gurgling in the background of the screen. _"That's right. Actually, I'm getting a bit worried myself. I've tried contacting Hau several times, as well as Lillie and Gladion. Nothing."_

We had all squeezed into a telephone booth inside the Pokemon Center's Communication's Room where we had video called Kukui to see if Hau or anyone was there. No luck it seemed.

"Do you have any idea where they could be?" I asked.

_"Call up Aether,"_ Kukui advised._ "Last I heard they had all gone there together."_

"Thanks Kukui," Robert said, but before anyone could sign off, I asked, "Is Mahina with Gladion?"

_"Yes,"_ Kukui confirmed. _"Funny, I overheard Hau asking him that exact same thing last time they were here."_

I nodded, my suspicions having risen and I could guess at what was going on. "Okay, thanks. Tell our Pokemon we say hi. Actually," I pondered for a second, then said, "And tell them they'll see me in person in over a week."

"Same for mine," Alex grinned. "We might need them for the Kalos League Tournament."

Kukui grinned. _"Alright! I'll be sure to tune in. Can't wait to see what you'll will make of it."_

Ending the call, I punched in the numbers for Aether and soon Wicke appeared on the screen.

_"Ah,"_ she said, straightening her glasses. _"Zeno, Alex, Robert. What can I do for you all?"_

"We were wondering where Hau, Lillie, and Gladion are?" Alex asked. "Professor Kukui says he hasn't been able to get in contact with them lately."

_"Well,"_ Wicke looked slightly embarrassed. _"That is highly confiden-"_

"They went didn't they?" I asked, leaning forwards. "Into the Ultra Wormhole?"

"What?" Alex and Robert asked at the same time, then both let out "Ahs" as they remembered when I had filled them in on the information Hau had given me a while ago.

Wicke was silent for a moment, then sighed._ "Well, I guess it's fine for you three to know, as you were directly related to this problem." S_he straightened. _"Yes, they did. We located the source of the opening where the new Ultra Beasts were able to get into our world and Hau, Lillie, and Gladion decided to investigate inside."_

"Is that safe?" Robert asked, raising an eyebrow.

_"We're not sure," _Wicke shook her head. _"They were supposed to return in a couple days, but haven't yet. We've kept the Ultra Wormhole stabilized for the past half month-"_

"Past month!?" the three of us were shocked. Hau and the others were who knows where beyond our world and have been for half a month at least?

_"Correct,"_ Wicke nodded. _"They do have Lunala with them and two of the Ultra Recon Squad Members with them, Dulse and Zossie. I'm sure they're fine."_

When we ended the call, we weren't feeling so sure about that statement.

"Really think they'll be okay?" Alex sounded worried. "I mean, Lillie isn't a fighter."

"Hau and Gladion will definitely protect her with their lives," I said to reassure her. "Not to mention Nebby, who is a legendary Pokemon."

"Yeah," Robert nodded, though he looked worried as well. "They'll be just fine. Hau is the Champion of Alola don't forget."

"No point in worrying over it," I said. "Alex, weren't you going to take us places?"

She brightened. "Yes, yes I was." she grabbed both of our hands and pulled us along. "And I know the first one to visit."

...

"Woah," Robert breathed as we walked across the large platform extending over the water. Rising into the sky at the end of the platform was a huge pinkish crystal rising into the sky, a golden symbols fitted onto it. There was a hole in the middle of the large crystal.

"The Anistar Sundial," Alex announced. "Apparently between 8 and 9 PM the light that filters through gets those rings on the ground moving." She pointed to a circle of shrubs and within that there were six rings in the ground, a golden sphere in the middle. "It also rains these sparkles things for around ten minutes."

"Glad we're not here for the sparkles," I remarked. "So is it just here to tell time?"

"Yes and no," Alex said, then clarified. "According to the pamphlet, Sycamore believes it has something to do with Mega Evolution, but he's still conducting research."

I unsheathed my knife and held the Keystone up to the light, half expecting it to glow brightly or something. Nothing.

"So what's next?" Robert asked. "I mean, are we just going to continue staring at this thing? Yeah it's beautiful, but unless it starts exploding fireworks..."

Alex tapped her chin. "There's a cafe near here. But I'm not quite hungry just yet..." Her eyes brightened. "Right! There's a Boutique shop near here. We can head there first."

A shiver ran down my spine. I was going to have to thread carefully or else I would end up with worse clothes. I still didn't like the blue coat I was currently wearing.

...

"So, Greninja," I looked at him. "What do you think?"

He nodded approvingly at my choice and I grinned, then saw out of the corner of my eye someone else looking at us. Suppressing a sigh, I tried to ignore them. We had entered the Boutique shop and I had decided to let Greninja out of his pokeball. Not only were shiny Pokemon rare, but seeing a shiny Greninja was especially rare, as I could tell from all the glances our way.

"Alex and Robert already left to the cafe ahead of us," I noted, not seeing them in the store. As far as I knew, Alex hadn't picked out anything for me, so I was in the clear to get my own clothes. After I purchased the items, I winked at Greninja when we left. "Keep this one to yourself. Surprises are best kept that way."

Greninja nodded and tugged his tongue tighter around his neck. It was a bit chilly out, but much warmer compared to being out stuck in a snowstorm.

"Huh," Alex set down her cup when we neared her and Robert, who both sat in a booth inside the cafe. "Looks like I didn't need to worry."

The clothes I had bought and now wore were definitely not ones that stood out, but they seemed acceptable. A zipped black jacket with yellow-green outlines and black pants.

"Best I could find," Greninja and I sat in the booth opposite of them. "No plain black jackets. You got lucky this time."

"Or maybe you don't want to admit you're tastes are evolving," Alex smirked, then took out her pamphlet. "I did some more reading on the gym leader. A Psychic user who deals in double battles. Two Pokemon for each side."

"Only two?" I was a bit surprised. "That's different."

"Indeed," she agreed. "It says her combination attacks are really something. So strategy is going to be very important for this battle."

I glanced at Greninja. "Hm, who else?"

Greninja croaked and I nodded. "Yeah, that might be for the best. Let's go with that."

"I know trainers can roughly communicate with their Pokemon," Robert leaned forwards, eyes full of interest. "But it seems like you can do more than just that. It's like you're having conversation."

"Not really conversations," I shook my head. "It's more on what I feel and then interpret that feeling. It's kinda hard to explain."

Robert nodded. "Noted. Might have to do more research into this matter."

"Once we're done here I would like to check out the local gift shops," Alex said, sipping at her coffee. "I need some mementos of this journey so far. Then I propose we find a fancy restaurant. I say we deserve that after everything we've done thus far."

"Sounds good to me," Robert agreed. "Eating good always appeals to me."

"Sure," I nodded, already thinking ahead to the battle to come tomorrow, trying to think of a suitable strategy. And then, after that, we would be taking down Team Flare for good. Then a smirk spread across my face. I was hoping for a great reaction tomorrow.

**Filler chapter, had to happen. Gym battle will be next up and I believe I can feature Alex in this one finally. Till the next update. I'll try to get one up within a couple days. Toodles**


	52. Chapter 50: The All-Knowing Battle

We stood before a domed building, golden rings arching over it at different angles and the Kalos Gym symbol hung over the doorway.

"Time for our 7th gym badge," Alex said, one hand on her hip. "Wow, only one more to get after this. Feels like this journey has gone by fast."

"Despite everything else?" I smiled. "I guess it has."

"By the way," Alex tapped me on the shoulder, heading towards the door. "I call dibs on battling first."

"What?" I smirked. "Don't want to analyze the opponents by having me battle first?"

"I should mention," Robert started saying as we entered the building and down a hall as he stared at a brochure. "This gym is likely going to wow us."

"Wow?" I asked, looking at him, then Alex breathed, "Wow."

"What?" I turned my head and said, "Wow."

The large dome shaped room's ceiling was just electronic screen, each one having seemingly meshed together without a crack visible. Beautifully colored galaxies, supernovas, and a dazzling array of stars shone above us. And the arena was like on big open timepiece. Gears turned beneath a blue glowing battlefield, their clanging sounds matching wonderfully with the scenery. Three large rings were situated at different intervals, the one highest used as stands for people to watch from. Three other rings circled around the arena and I realized this place wasn't a dome at all. It was a sphere as the circular rings were allowed to nearly brush up against the floor and ceiling.

"It's like we're in space," breathed Robert, actually looking kind of giddy. "This is amazing!"

"Welcome, challengers," a voice spoke in something akin to a noble tone, belonging to a dark-skinned woman standing beneath a metal archway at the far end of the stadium on the stand. With star shaped earrings, her purple hair was curled up in a unique style and her periwinkle eyes regarded us as if we were a curious mystery. Over a black suit she wore a silver cape with the inside looking as if it was space itself. On either side of her were her two Pokemon. A Female Meowstic to her right and a male one to her left.

"I am Olympia," Both Meowstics' eyes turned blue and a similar blue aura surrounded them and Olympia. All three floated into the air and lowered themselves at the opposite end of the battlefield. "Gym Leader of the Anistar Gym. At long last me meet."

"Um," Alex looked unsure. "You were expecting us?"

Olympia only gave a small nod, her Meowstics floating in front of her, paws connected. "Step forwards, Alexandra."

"Alex," She snapped, an expression of anger quickly rising on her face. But just as fast it faded. "I go by Alex."

Olympia spread out her arms. "Alex, show me the fire that burns within your soul."

The Meowstics narrowed their eyes, glowing brighter.

Alex snatched two pokeballs clipped to her waist, tossing both in the air. "Let's go, Absol, Frosmoth!" Absol appeared on the ground and stretched, eyeing the Psychic type opponents with a curious glance. Frosmoth floated gently around Alex, one of her wings gently brushing against her face.

Alex knelt. "Absol, I know who your trainer was before me." Absol looked surprised at that and regarded Alex, who smiled. "But I don't care about that. I believe you and I now have a bond and I'm willing to push that further," she held up large silver necklace she had bought the day previous from a local shop and had it modified. In the middle, a small orb glowed. Absol stood straighter in surprise, then walked towards her trainer and bowed so Alex could clasp it around her. Alex then held up her wrist, her Keystone shining. "Let's show her how bright our spirits can really shine." Absol nodded and turned to stand proudly as she and Frosmoth faced the Meowstics.

A woman with long blue hair in purple gym robes stood on the side of the battlefield. "Alright, the Anistar gym battle between Alex, the challenger, and Olympia, the Anistar Gym Leader, is about to begin! This is a double battle! Each trainer will battle with two Pokemon at once and there will be no substitutions! Battle, Begin!" She finished with a wave of her hand, the gears beneath the arena locking into a new position, only to continue on turning.

"Frosmoth, Aurora Veil!" Alex commanded and a mystifying curtain shrouded itself over both Frosmoth and Absol before disappearing. "Absol, hear my call!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battle, Olympia said, "Light Screen and Future Sight."

The male Meowstic brought up a barrier while the female's eyes glowed pink for a second before both disappeared.

"Let our power and bond grow as we go beyond evolution," Alex touched two fingers to her Keystone, a brilliant light connecting her and Absol. "Absol, Mega Evolve!"

Light broke free from Absol, revealing a more serene Pokemon. Feathery wings sprouted from her back and the horn extending from the right side of her head became more curved while her fur covered the right side of her face more.

Alex grinned proudly. "Night Slash and Bug Buzz!"

Frosmoth flapped her wings at a high frequency, the sonic attack directed at both Meowstics. Absol ran forwards, faster now that she had mega evolved. She twisted her body, slashing the blade on her head, a fierce dark wind lashing outwards.

"Dark Pulse and Psyshock," Olympia voiced.

The Meowstics switched places in the air, the female blasting a Dark Pulse at Absol's attacks while the male shot psychic pellets of air at the incoming sound attack. Two explosions resulted from the attacks and both Meowstics flew higher out of the smoke with Frosmoth flying just below them.

"Icy Wind!" Alex shouted and Frosmoth blew a cold wind towards them. Both Pokemon were battered, but a rift opened up above them, psychic energy slamming into Frosmoth, sending her tumbling away. Absol jumped and caught Frosmoth on her back, letting the Bug type to flutter off her.

"Speed's lowered," Alex smirked. "Good. Frosmoth, Aurora Beam! Absol, jump and use Night Slash again!"

"Meowstic," Olympia raised her hand, white nails shining. "Send him in and use Play Rough!"

The female Meowstic channeled psychic energy around the Male and shot him towards Absol while also dodging the Aurora Beam with speed that obviously hadn't been lowered.

"What!?" Alex looked surprised as one attack missed and the other didn't have a chance of getting off, as the male Meowstic slammed into Absol and began pummeling her.

"Keen Eye," Robert noted as we watched from the stands. "Female Meowstic. Her speed stayed the same thanks to that ability."

"Keen eye you have there," I joked.

"Bite," Alex yelled instinctively and Absol managed to bite down hard on Meowstic.

"Thunderbolt," Olympia shouted. "And paralyze her with Thunder Wave!"

The male Meowstic blasted Absol with electricity, allowing himself to be freed from her jaws. He floated back up in the air as the female Meowstic moved behind Frosmoth and shot her with a small jolt of energy, paralyzing her. Frosmoth flinched and dropped lower to the ground, but managed to stay in the air.

"Thunderbolt and Thunder Wave on Absol," Olympia commanded her Meowstics, who both proceeded to do just that.

Absol took both hits, taking damage from the Thunderbolt, but her body glowed with a rainbow color and the spark of electricity rebounded and hit the female Meowstic, paralyzing her instead.

"Lucky Break!" Alex grinned. "Frosmoth, Bug Buzz!"

Struggling to flap her wings, Frosmoth managed to fire the sonic waves and only grazed the female Meowstic, the male one having tried to psychic her out of the way.

"Double Team!"

Multiple Absols popped into existence, all of them leaping towards the Meowstics.

"Helping Hand paired with Dark Pulse!" Olympia shouted.

The male Meowstic got behind the female and supported her with psychic energy. Her eyes glowed and fired a dark beam at Absol, who sliced through it with her horn, slamming a dark wind against her. Meowstic was slammed against the male, both sent tumbling through the air.

"Let's use that why don't we," Alex raised her hand. "Frosmoth, Helping Hand! Absol, Razor Wind!"

Absol swung her head, a whirlwind swirling up around her. Frosmoth flapped her wings before falling to the ground, the paralysis taking effect, but the energy had already descended upon Absol, the whirlwind growing stronger.

"Together," Olympia told her Pokemon and both Meowstics touched paws, the blue aura around them growing stronger. "Psyshock!"

The air condensed around the pair of Psychic types into hard pellets imbued with psychic energy. They shot towards Absol and Frosmoth, but Absol swung her head and roared. The whirlwind blasted forwards, the pellets doing little to slow it down. A few went through the fierce wind and phased through Absol while some hit Frosmoth. The whirlwind wasn't slowed down much as it slammed into the Meowstics. They fell towards the ground, landing on their feet, pained expression on both.

"Get them both Absol!" Alex shouted. "Night Slash!"

Absol ran forwards, dark wind streaming from her horn.

"Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball," Olympia called out, but the battle was basically over. With both Meowstics having dropped in speed and unable to do much against a Dark type like Absol, the battle was essentially over before it had begun.

The Thunderbolt shocked Absol's body, but she kept running, the Night Slash slicing through the Shadow Ball and slamming into the Meowstics. They were knocked backwards, tumbling to Olympia's feet, weakened to the point where they couldn't do anything but slowly rise to their feet. While not fainted, they had certainly lost.

The referee raised her hand. "Both Meowstics are unable to battle. Alex, the challenger, wins!"

Absol greeted both her Pokemon who returned to her and congratulated them. "Good job out there, both of you. And Frosmoth, I officially welcome you to the team."

Frosmoth chimed quietly and Alex returned her to her pokeball to rest. Absol shook herself, reverting back to her normal form. She raised a paw and Alex held it. "Let's do amazing things together, Absol. I'm not Kamake, but I promise to be who you deserve."

Absol bowed her head and licked Alex's hand before being sucked back into her pokeball. Alex stood to see the Psychic Badge floating in front of her.

Olympia smiled softly. "Proof of your win. Go forth, Alex. Never let your spirit die or you may crumble to ashes yourself."

Alex stopped at those words and blinked. Shaking her head, she headed for the stands.

"I'm up," I said, cracking my knuckles.

"Yes you are," Robert nodded and looked at me, eyes landing on what I was holding. He began to chuckle and shook his head. I grinned and moved down towards the arena, meeting Alex halfway.

She stopped as I moved past and muttered, "You've got to be kidding me. I give you freedom and this is what you do..."

I stepped forwards onto the arena, black combat boots planted firmly as Greninja and Pawniard stood on either side of me. I breathed in, then out. "Greninja." Our minds connected and water surged around him before pulling back into his cloak. While he did that, in one fluid motion, I swung the trench coat over me, tightening the belt. Black and form fitting, it reached down just past my knees. Once I had used this to mark me as an assassin of Team Rocket, but now I wore it as a symbol of who Greninja and I are.

"We are the Kage-Shinobi," I said, Greninja standing beside me, our determination one. "And we won't lose."

"You gotta admit," Robert said to Alex in the stands. "That is cool."

"Shut it," Alex growled, but even she could understand the reason he wore a trench coat again.

"That Pokemon," Olympia breathed, eyes sparkling. "Yes, it is him."

Both her Meowstics had been returned and now a Sigilyph and Slowking were in front of her. The referee raised her hand. "The same rules apply as before! Battle, begin!"

"Ready Pawniard?" I asked and he nodded. "Good. This is your first battle with me, so Greninja will show you the ropes. Greninja, Water Shuriken! Pawniard, Metal Sound!"

Pawniard clanged his claws together and a sharp ringing hit both enemy Pokemon. Sigilyph had set up a Light Screen while Slowking's eyes sharpened as Olympia shouted, "Disable!"

Greninja's Water Shurikens disappeared while he was mid-leap towards Sigilyph.

"Change to Night Slash!" I shouted and one of Greninja's blades shot to his hand, glowing dark. He slashed at Sigilyph, but his attack was repelled by an Air Slash.

"Sigilyph," Olympia called to her Pokemon. "Cosmic Power! Slowking, Surf!"

"Dodge!" I shouted and Greninja leaped back as Slowking ushered in a wave of water, crashing towards him and Pawniard. "Pawniard, rush forwards!"

Pawniard looked at me in surprise, but I nodded. He ran and I felt my connection with Greninja.

_"We have to take down that Slowking,"_ I thought, feeling Greninja's emotions having merged with my own. _"He'll try to keep us at bay while Sigilyph fires moves at us. That will be their plan. So we need to rush. Defend Pawniard and help him reach Sigilyph."_

All of this was communicated in an instant and I found myself seeing through Greninja's eyes. I slammed my hand on the ground, trench billowing upwards. "Water Pledge!"

Greninja mimicked the movement as he landed in front of Pawniard, three geysers of water interrupting the original flow of the incoming wave, allowing neither Pokemon to get hit. I lowered my right hand and so did Greninja, allowing Pawniard to jump upon it and was vaulted into the air towards Sigilyph.

"Hit him with Water Gun," Olympia commanded. "Sigilyph, Air Cutter!"

Both Pokemon were wide open for Greninja to strike either, but I wasn't going to let Pawniard take the hits. I gripped my trench and swung it off, shouting, "Hydro Shield!"

Greninja ran full tilt and leaped, swinging off his cloak as I did, using it to block both attacks before they could reach Pawniard. I bent back and so did Greninja so we could allow Pawniard to leap over him.

"Night Slash!" I yelled and Pawniard swung his claw, slashing it across Sigilyph's body. I felt a tingle shoot up our spines and we grinned. Extending both palms, I shouted, "Water Shuriken!"

Quick as a flash, Greninja shot two Water Shurikens at Slowking, who due to slow speed, was unable to dodge. He flinched upon being hit and Olympia raised her hand. "Disable!"

"That's fine," I grinned and both hands flung to my side as Greninja grabbed two blades from there, both turning dark. "Pawniard, after Slowking! Greninja, you know what to do!"

Pawniard ran for Slowking, each attack from him and Sigilyph deflected by Greninja using both his blades, practically dancing around the battlefield. Then both he and Pawniard slashed their Night Slashes against Slowking, the Psychic type brought to one knee.

Olympia commanded Slowking to use Surf once more, but I yelled, "Extrasensory!"

Greninja's eyes glowed and the water was deflected back onto Slowking. Sigilyph's next attack struck Greninja in the side, my hand reaching to my own side as I felt the blow. "Pawniard, Metal Sound!"

The sound disrupted Sigilyph and Greninja leaped into the air, slashing as he went, bringing the Psychic type crashing to the ground. As he made to rise, Pawniard dealt the finishing blow, knocking him out. A blast of water from Slowking knocked Pawniard back, but Greninja ran for the Water type, a glowing blade in his hand.

"Power Gem!"

Glowing rocks sprung into the air, each one shooting towards Greninja. Our movements were fluid, my reflexes taking over as we both swung our hands. Each rock was knocked away and Greninja slid past Slowking so fast, an afterimage of the glowing blade was left hanging for a second. Then Slowking collapsed.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle," the ref called. "That means Zeno, the challenger, wins!"

I slid to the ground, sweating as Greninja's form faded. We had pushed ourselves, which would definitely be felt sooner or later. I stood to greet Greninja and Pawniard. "Amazing first battle, Pawniard. You'll be a powerful Pokemon one day."

He made a metal sound, which sounded happy. Greninja clasped a webbed hand on my shoulder and I grinned. "Fighting in full sync like that really wears me down. But there's definitely promise there, I can feel it." Greninja croaked in agreement and I looked to find the Psychic badge floating in front of me as it had done for Alex.

"Both of you have won," Olympia congratulated. "While much remains unknown, I can see that you all are important. For what is to come is shrouded in darkness and the path you walk uncertain. I wish you good fortune and may the future shine brightly upon you all."

With that, she returned to her archway and closed her eyes. At first I thought she might be asleep, then decided she must be meditating. As Alex and Robert met up with me, the blue-haired referee met up with us.

"Please excuse Miss Olympia," she bowed her head slightly. "She has been feeling unwell lately and the disturbances across Kalos have been putting a great deal of stress on her. Don't think too hard on what she's said to you all."

"Sure," Alex said. "No problem."

We left and Alex hit me in the shoulder.

"Hey," I complained. "What was that for?"

She just stared at me, then sighed. "Next time, I do the shopping for you."

"Hey," I raised my hands, having already put the trench coat back in my backpack. "I'm not going to wear it all the time, I promise. It's just, it felt right when paired with Greninja."

Alex sighed again. "Fine, but only when you battle. I want you wearing regular street clothes when you're not."

"You know," Robert sounded as if he was holding back a laugh. "You sound like you're his mother."

Alex shot him a glare and he burst out laughing. Wiping a tear from his eye, he said, "We should get your Pokemon to the Pokemon Center. Then I guess we rest and wait to see if Looker calls."

"Sounds like a plan," I nodded and we set off for the Pokemon Center.

...

That evening, the call came. With dusk setting in, we made our way to Route 18 where we waited for Looker to arrive with a helicopter.

"This is it," Alex said, tossing her pokeball up in the air before catching it again. "Off to take down Team Flare."

"The Defenders of Order lost in our last encounter," Robert shook his head. "Shameful."

"But this time," I raised my gaze to the helicopter heading towards us. "We won't lose. We'll stop their plans and destroy the Ultimate Weapon before they can use it."

...

Olympia sat, eyelids fluttering and she moaned in pain as her head was filled with images. Flashes of chaos, a city burning, deep green eyes. Her eyes shot open, mouth slightly open.

_Two brothers united. Foes now allies. People crying out in terror. Vines spreading across a city. A serpent-like figure rising from the depths of chaos itself._

_"Your collective arrival was one of great importance, a sign of change," _breathed Olympia. _"Hero Born of Darkness, Priestess of the Ancients, The One Who Seeks Clarity. Kalos enters a time of uncertainty and heroes are needed or else all will fall."_

She shuddered and fell back, her students catching her before she could hit her head. She could barely process what she had just witnessed, but she feared she had seen the end.

**Been nearly a year since I started LDOC and already we're at 50 chapters! Wow. Anyway, I'm still unsure about my Double Battle writing skills. Let me know what you guys think because I'm not too sure myself. Also, PlaySation 5 details were released and I'm stoked! Some of the games I just really want to play, but then I'm reminded of how much the PS5 is likely to cost... It must be done...Until next time readers. Toodles**


	53. Chapter 51: Infiltrating Team Flare's HQ

"Go fish."

"Ugh, not again."

The waiter was bored, extremely so, so he and his fellow employee were playing Go Fish with a stacks of cards they found left behind by a customer. With business slow that rainy evening and nothing else to do, they begun a game. If only a cust-

The bell situated above the door jingled and both the waiter and waitress jerked up from where they rested their elbows on the red counter. Someone wearing a soaked trench coat and trilby hat. He tipped his hat at them and spoke in a accented voice. "Coffee, please," he took a seat close to the counter, heaving a sigh. "Extra sugar, black."

The waiter nodded and started a brew. The brown-haired waitress, not wanting to seem like she was being lazy on the job, pretended to make herself busy by going behind the counter and bending low to move stuff around in the cupboards. The customer glanced around him, getting up and moving over to the cabinet housing antique glassware. He appeared to admire them, which the waiter took notice of when he turned his head.

"Oh," he looked surprised, his eyes narrowing for a second. "You have an interest in our old teapots? We're quite proud of them here." He delivered a soft kick to his fellow employee and her hand drifted to beneath her apron.

"Yeah, actually," the customer traced a finger over one, noting the dust and plastic.

"Now," the waiter took a step to lean over the counter. "We don't allow customers to touch those. If you would please step-"

"Fakes," the customer removed his hat and sat it on a table, brushing his short bangs. "I mean, if you're going to use this as a secret door, you don't want to accidentally drop real antiques now would you?"

He heard twin sounds of Pokemon being released and he glanced back to see a Scrafty on the counter and a Liepard standing between him and the entrance. The waiter glared at him. "Who are you and how much do you know?"

The man grinned, putting his hand into an inside pocket and pulling out a wallet, flipping it open to reveal a badge. "I'm Agent Looker of the International Police. As members of Team Flare, you two and your Pokemon are under arrest. It's advised you come quietly."

The two Cafe employees, aka grunts of Team Flare, glanced at each other before both shaking their heads, the waitress speaking this time. "That isn't going to happen. In order for our new world to come to pass, we'll have to silence you."

Looker sighed. "I was afraid it would come to this." He glanced regretfully around the cafe. "Shame. Aside from the fake antiques, I would hate to ruin the decor. I do like the red."

In an instant, Scrafty was carried from the counter and slammed into the wall behind the waiter, knocking the brew of coffee on the ground. Both Flare grunts looked shocked when a Pokemon materialized into existence on a table, finger outstretched like a gun.

"Inteleon," Looker nodded and the Pokemon flipped into the air, hand covered in darkness. Liepard crouched, ready to pounce, but Inteleon slammed his fist into her side before she could react, sending her skidding along the floor, knocking over several chairs.

Looker raised his fists as both waiters leaped over the counter, evading both blows. He punched the waiter in the gut and kicked the waitress' feet off the ground. Liepard shook herself and lunged forwards, claws elongated. Inteleon went to one knee and shot out his finger, a concentrated bullet of water blasting into Liepard and sending her through the glass doors and outside into the rain. He leaped back as Scrafty's knee collided with the floor where the Water type had just been, flinching at the pain.

Looker had got the guy on the ground and had clipped a handcuff onto his wrist, connecting the other part to the table leg embedded in the ground as he looked back at his Pokemon. "You doing okay, Inteleon?"

Inteleon smirked as he wrapped his tail around Scrafty's middle and flung him into the ceiling. He swiped his finger through the air, sharp wind colliding with Scrafty as he fell and he crashed through one of the windows and onto the street as well. Once Looker clipped the woman to a different table, he stood and popped his back. "I think we're done in here."

...

After capturing Liepard and Scrafty into special "Handcuff Balls" as Looker called them, Alex, Robert, and I entered the cafe, seeing Looker examining the cabinet in the back.

"You really didn't need our help," Robert noted as he glanced at the glaring Flare grunts.

"Of course," Looker grinned. "I wouldn't be a proper agent of the IP if Inteleon and I couldn't." He grunted as he shoved his shoulder into the side of the cabinet, but it remained put.

"Here, let me," Robert pulled out a device that no longer looked like a Pokedex unless you studied it carefully and held it up to the cabinet. He then moved some of the glassware around until he located a panel disguised as wood. He flipped it open and revealed a digital keypad.

"Okay then," Robert grinned as he messed with his gadget. "This shouldn't take a minute. Seriously guys, you should get better security. After messing with it so many times, this. Is. A. Piece. Of. Cake." With each word, he hit a different button more forcefully than he needed to and the keypad beeped and a light lit green on the display. Looker stepped away as the cabinet slid to the right, revealing a doorway with stairs leading down.

"You should really consider a job in the IT department in the International Police," Looker grinned, then became serious, Inteleon holding his finger up like a gun as both stared into the doorway. "We'll have to be careful from here on out. They likely already know we're coming."

With Looker in front, we proceeded down the steps and soon we were in a room with a red elevator across from the stairs. The walls around us emitted orange glows and a view screen above the elevator flicked on, revealing Lysandre.

"Welcome, Looker of the International Police," he nodded at him. "And of course you three, Zeno, Alex, and Robert. You have been quite persistent in getting in my way. I congratulate you on making it this far."

"Can it," I stepped forwards. "We know about the Ultimate Weapon and how you plan to use it. We're going to put a stop to that tonight."

Lysandre smiled. "If you know of that, then you must know my reasons for wanting to do so."

"Doesn't matter," Alex shook her head. "We can't let you bring upon extinction level event and only have a few survive."

"I can actually," Lysandre's face grew solemn. "This world has been tainted by human hands for too long and look at all the destruction we have brought upon us and Pokemon alike. I will do what I must to ensure Pokemon can live a better, peaceful life with humans who will only care for them. I will remove the ugliness of this world forever."

"However," he straightened his suit. "I will give you all one chance to be this world's saviors. If you locate the key necessary for this elevator and manage to shut down the Ultimate Weapon below, then you have proved this world can continue existing as it is." He glanced at Robert. "Don't waste your time hacking. You won't be getting through." He disappeared and the screen went blank.

"We could try brute force," Robert suggested, putting away his device.

Looker tapped on the elevator door. "Doubtful. We need that key and we need it fast." He glanced to our left and walked over to a glowing tile on the ground. "Warp Tiles. This is going to be tricky."

Robert knelt by it and scanned it. "Not exactly. I think I can hack into this one. Give me just a sec... Got it." The tile flashed green, then orange. "I can manually connect this warp tile to anywhere else. There is one path that's restricted, but I'm willing to bet that's where the elevator leads."

"Perfect," Looker nodded. "Can you make it so every other warp pad leads back to this one?"

Robert nodded. "Of course."

"Splitting up then," I asked.

"Yes," Looker rubbed his chin. "Fastest course of action. I trust in all your capabilities."

Robert gave him a thumbs up and Looker took a step forwards and disappeared once his foot touched the tile, Inteleon heading in after him. Robert pressed a few more keys and the tile turned back to green.

"Your turn," he looked at Alex, who nodded as she let out Florges and rushed in.

A second later, Robert nodded at me. "You're up."

"Don't get beat," I patted him on the shoulder and was whisked away.

Robert changed the warp tile again and put his device away, cracking his knuckles. "Alright, let's do this." He then spoke in a whisper. "Do not go gentle into that good night." He felt a tingly sensation as he stepped onto the pad and not a second later he was standing outside a door. Seeing the hallway go to both sides, he decided to open the door.

He stepped into a large room with several rows of beds with red comforters and white pillows, all set up neatly. Lockers stood between each bed and Robert guess there were spare Flare uniforms inside. There was a table near the back where a couple male grunts in Flare uniforms sat, playing with cards, with no one bother to look in his direction. Robert smirked and made his way over to them. As he got closer, he realized they were playing Poker and one guy was losing terribly.

"Gentlemen," Robert spoke and all grunts practically jumped and their heads whipped around to face him. "Any of you have a spare suit? I'm afraid I didn't receive mine when I joined up."

They just sat there with dumb looks on their faces, mouths slightly agape, before one of them got ahold of himself. "You're... a new recruit?"

Robert nodded and pretended to look offended. "Of course. I'm not wearing my suit at the moment, which is another reason why I'm in here."

Another grunt eyed him suspiciously, or he probably was, Robert couldn't really tell with the red sunglasses. "How much did you pay to get in?"

"5 million," Robert joked, but they actually sighed in relief.

The guy who had spoke first stood and clasped Robert on the shoulder. "So you _are_ a new recruit. Glad to have you. You're young, but it's nice to know younger people see the world as we do. What's your name?"

"Robert," Robert stated, playing along. "So, is that your actual hair or do we have to dye it. I'm afraid I missed that part on the application."

He laughed and steered him to a nearby locker. "This bed here can be yours, Rob. And this locker's combo is 21-3-18. There should be a spare suit inside. Hey, once you're outfitted, you should join us for a game."

He rejoined his buddies and Robert unlocked the locker and quickly put on the suit, placing his old clothes in his backpack. He saw a fake wig and grinned while putting it on, finishing the outfit with the sunglasses. He checked himself out in the mirror, wiggling his eyebrows.

"So I figured I would tour the base first," Robert said. "I can join a game later. By any chance, is that elevator near the entrance accessible?"

"Nah," one of the grunts shook his head. "Only Lysandre and the admins are allowed in. Oh, and the scientists. I think Mable has the key to it, but grunts like us aren't allowed in."

A different grunt walked over to the table from where he was digging around in his locker. He held up a case of beer. "We'll be sure to save you a couple, Robert. Be sure to hurry back and try not to get reprimanded by one of the scientists. They can be a little prickly sometimes."

"Duly noted," Robert attempted one of the signature Flare stances, getting a chorus of laughter from the grunts. Stepping out of the room, he closed it and stepped into the warp pad, returning to the elevator. Before he had a chance to even move, he was bodied to the ground, arm pressed behind his back.

"Woah woah woah," Robert winced. "It's me. Robert."

"Robert?" Alex's voice, then the weight lifted. "Oh, sorry."

She helped him up. "What are you doing wearing that?"

"Like it?" Robert grinned, straightening his tie and pulling his sunglasses down a little to reveal his eyes. "It helped with getting the info we need. Where's everyone else?"

"Not back yet," Alex shook her head. "And good to know. Warping to different places doesn't quite agree with me."

...

"Oh come on," I jerked my head to the side as a blast of energy soared past. "Iron Head! Water Shuriken! Heat Wave!"

Mawile's head collided with a Scrafty, sending him crashing into his trainer before returning back to me. Greninja leaped back next to me, sending two shurikens into Houndoom before Arcanine stepped forwards, a wave of heat blasting against the enemy Pokemon and their trainers.

Rushing forwards, I quickly checked them all, but came up with no key. "Great. Hopefully the others had better luck."

Upon returning through the warp tile, I was greeted by the sight of a Flare grunt standing over Alex. Not wasting a second, I kicked the grunt's legs out from beneath him and made to slam him into the floor, but Alex quickly stood and caught his chest and my arm before I could finish the move.

"Wait!" Alex shouted. "That's Robert!"

"What?" I blinked, then turned him over, recognizing my friend behind the glasses and wig. "Why the heck are you wearing that!?"

"I don't know," Robert groaned. "All it's doing is getting me nearly killed by everyone BUT Team Flare. I guess that makes it a good disguise, but the pain is very real."

"Sorry about that," I helped him stand. "But really, don't do this again without telling us first. Give me a warning next time."

"You see, kinda hard when you don't waste time hearing someone out," Robert pointed out, then Looker appeared behind me.

"You three find anything?" he asked.

"No," I said, but Robert held up a hand.

"Yes," he answered. "Also, you recognize me?"

"Of course," Looker laughed. "I daresay that's as good as some of my disguises. Now, your intel."

Robert nodded. "We need to find that blue-haired scientist, Mable. She has the key. And I've located her office. I was waiting for Alex to recover from the warp tile so we could go before you two got back, but now that you're here all the better."

On that note, Alex did still look a little green, but it was quickly fading. "I'm okay now. Let's go and get what we need."

"Or stay here," Robert changed the warp tile's color to orange. "Actually, I'll stay here as well. If anyone comes by, we could maybe pretend I caught you and not have to battle."

She nodded. "Fine by me."

"See you soon," I told them and followed Looker into the warp tile.

We arrived right outside of a door and upon opening, saw Mable between glass cabinets containing what looked like sound records. She turned to face us, adjusting her blue visor slightly.

"Why hello," she said brightly. "I've been expecting you. You're wanting this, correct?" She held up a plastic card with the Flare symbol on it. "Well, you'll have to beat me first. I want an honorable Pokemon battle or this breaks."

"You can take point," Looker nodded at me. "I may be an experienced officer, but you're the better trainer."

"Fine by me," I stepped forwards, unclipping a pokeball. "That time at the Power Plant I won."

"But you lost to us at the Frost Cavern," she smiled sweetly as she held up her Ultra Ball. "What makes you think you can stop Team Flare."

"Because last time you ran away," I narrowed my eyes and let out Lucario. "And this time you'll have nowhere to run."

"I won't need to," Mable released her Houndoom, a Mega Stone shining on its right horn. The blue-haired scientist tapped the side of her visor, a stone glittering with light as the rays connected with Houndoom. "Respond to the power of science! Mega Evolve!"

Houndoom howled as his body changed, his exterior bone structures growing longer, bigger, and sharper as his tail split into two points. A skull-like structure of bones appeared on his chest as his claws turned red hot and they melted the floor where he dug them in.

"Lucario," I swung out my knife, thumb brushing my Key Stone. "Control the power of your aura and unleash your full potential. Mega Evolve!"

Lucario howled, smashing a fist into the ground as the aura whipped his appendages about, merciless eyes staring straight into Houndoom's.

"Flamethrower!" Mable shouted and Houndoom's blast of fire was so intense it scorched the walls as it shot towards us.

"Aura," I said, not moving.

Lucario swung his paw to the right, a wind of aura sending the fire into the wall, melting the metal.

"Bone Rush," I said and Lucario rushed forwards, twirling a long glowing bone in one hand.

"Crunch!" Mable yelled and Houndoom leaped and caught the bone in his mouth, crunching down it. The bone snapped into pieces and disintegrated.

"Power-Up Punch!"

Lucario slammed a fist into Houndoom's stomach, smashing him against the ceiling.

"Solar Beam!"

Something glowed on Houndoom before disappearing. He opened his maw and before he hit the ground, blasted a green energy beam that ripped up the floor, blasting Lucario into the wall. He narrowed his eyes and leaped forwards, his aura growing, but he kept it in his control.

Blasting forwards with a burst of speed, Lucario pummeled Houndoom with insanely quick blows before getting blasted back by a jet of fire. Houndoom rushed for him, dark energy gathered around him as he slammed into the Fighting Steel type. He then opened his maw, ready to clamp down blazing fangs into Lucario, but he quickly brought up his paws, blasting Houndoom in the chin with an Aura Sphere. Leaping to his feet, Lucario howled and leaped at the enemy Pokemon, hitting him with a flurry of kicks and punches similar to Extreme Speed, but seemed to be doing a lot more damage.

Houndoom staggered back, dazed. Lucario drew both paws back, a ball of energy forming. Before Houndoom could dodge or protect himself, he was struck by the move and send crashing into the desk behind his trainer, reverting back to normal.

"We won," I said as Lucario reverted back normal as well. "Give us what we need."

"Fine fine," Mable waved her hand then tossed the Key Card, which Lucario snapped out of the air. "Just so you know, you have no chance of winning. We will fire that weapon and we will create a better world."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Looker nodded his head at me. "Come on."

We hurried back to Alex and Robert, who both stood from where they were sitting on either side of the elevator.

I held up the Key. "We got it."

I swiped it on the scanner and it beeped. The elevator doors opened without a sound and we all stepped in before returning Lucario.

"Going down," Robert pressed the down button and the doors closed, then said. "It would be really bad if they decided to cut power to the elevator huh."

Alex hit him and he shut up.

Once it stopped, the doors opened to reveal a short hallway with stairs leading up to the right. We went over to it and turned, seeing the stairs lead up to a lab with large glass panes on the floor with a soft orange glow emitting from them. A huge screen was situated on the wall with two large machines on either side of it, the one on the left having a square blue button, while the one on the right having an orange button. Standing in front of the blue screen was a slightly plump man in the Flare suit. His skin was pale white and only had three strips of red hair paired with a sharp goatee. One of his blue gloves sat in his pocket as he wore the other one on his left hand. He wore red goggles with an earpiece that extended to his mouth.

"Welcome," he held out his hands, smiling broadly. "To where the Ultimate Weapon will be activated!"

"Tell us how to deactivate it or step aside," Alex threatened. "We don't have time for your useless shenanigans."

"You young ones," the scientist sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "So impatient and respect little of greatness. But fine," he held his hands behind his back. "You have two options. One of these buttons will activate the Ultimate Weapon and the other will deactivate it. It is entirely your choice, as Lysandre ordered. You can be the ones to save the current world or you can be the ones who'll damn it." He stepped to the side, bowing slightly. "Pray you will make the correct choice."

Robert was furiously typing away at his device, but he looked up at me and shook his head. "No use, I can't hack the system. This is going to come down to chance."

"What if we don't press anything?" Looker asked the scientist.

"The Ultimate Weapon will activate in one minute," he smiled. "So you better choose fast now."

A clock appeared on the screen at 50 seconds.

Looker cursed and his grimace tightened. I looked at both buttons. I had a sinking feeling that regardless of what I chose it would be activated anyway. Knowing that, choosing wouldn't be that difficult, but even so, there was a chance.

_"Big red button would be the obvious choice,"_ I analyzed. _"So it would make sense to choose that as the activation switch. But then that could mean he made the blue button the activation switch, making people believe the red button was the right choice."_

I shook my head. That line of thinking would bring me nowhere. It was time to choose.

"Blue?" I asked, glancing at Alex and Robert. Alex tightened her lips, nodding hesitantly while Robert nodded.

"I have a bad feeling either way," Looker said, crossing his arms.

Stepping over to it as the clock reached 15 seconds and held up my hand to the big blue button. I hesitated for another second, then pressed it. A large machinery noise whirred up, then died quickly.

The scientist clapped his hands excitedly. "Ooo, yes. You pressed the correct one."

I didn't allow myself to feel relieved and turned to glare at him. "Yet you sound so happy."

"Well of course," he laughed. "No matter what you pressed, the Ultimate Weapon would have been activated. Lysandre may have been willing to give you all a fighting chance, but I will not allow this power to be wasted! Now," he held up a remote and pointed it at the screen. "Watch the show."

The screen filtered to an aerial view of Geosenge Town, above the three large rocks. They seemed to rise a few feet from the ground before falling into three holes. Then something broke through the ground in the middle, the tip caked in dirt, but the rest shiny and glowing. Chunks of earth flew in the air and crashed to the ground, people fleeing on screen. It rose into the air on a small platform with connecting wires, the bottom of the huge thing bulbous, like a closed flower. Then it began rotating, opening as it did so, emitting blue light and swirls of energy. The chunks of earth rose into the air, pulled by a gravitational force. It opened fully, a silver glowing flower, and it crashed to the ground, causing an earthquake that toppled houses and the chunks of earth crashed as well. A blue glowing orb sat in the middle of the flower, pulsing.

"The Ultimate Weapon has been reborn!" the scientist laughed as I ran to catch up with Looker, Alex, and Robert, leaving the view screen and the Flare scientist behind. "The poisonous flower has bloomed! All shall perish except for Team Flare! Stand witness as the old world burns and a new one rises from the ashes!"

**Extra long chapter plus a point of the chapter concentrating on Robert, a little gift for taking so long to update. Multiple things happened. First I began noticing my laptop's charger making weird crackly, fuzzy noises, so I figured it would be much safer to keep it unplugged. That means its shut down and I can't turn it on less it die of no battery. Once I get a Hard Drive I'll have to get everything off of it, but in the meantime its powered off and I'm using the family laptop, which surprisingly really only I am using. The second thing that happened was the DLC for Shield, which I beat in two days. Let's be honest, the story is good, but short. Still working on finishing the new Pokedex, but I'll get there soon. The third thing is not so great and was potentially dangerous for my health. I had to go to the ER, but everything is fine. Minor thing and nothing life-threatening thank God. Anywho, cliffhanger. I do love my cliffhangers. Till next time! Toodles!**


	54. Chapter 52: Crisis in Geosenge

_"This just in! A giant metal flower has sprouted from the ground in the middle of Geosenge Town, an act that has left the surrounding area littered with debris and overturned buildings!" _The news lady held her hair back with one hand as the helicopter circled around the city, her cameraman filming the aftermath below on live TV. _"It appears these red suit-wearing people are behind this, an organization under the name of Team Flare! What they plan to do with this flower is anyone's guess at this point! They also appear to be standing guard at the exits of Geosenge, using force to keep the residents inside the city!"_

I grimaced as we all stared at the mini TV installed in the helicopter we were flying in, heading straight for the disaster zone.

"What's the International Police doing about this?" Alex asked, her voice coming through the crackly headphones we all wore.

"Their on there way like we are if they're not their already," Looker replied. "What the news doesn't realize is that Team Flare is actively holding back anyone trying to get into the town. They don't want us interfering."

"We can just fly in like this, right?" Robert sounded hopeful, but Looker shook his head.

"Not officially," Looker responded. "I'm being ordered to regroup with a squad outside the town. However, we'll have to fly over Geosenge first and then I can meet up with the rest of the IP."

Robert opened his mouth, looked confused, then shut it, nodding. "I see."

"We're nearing Geosenge Town," the pilot confirmed and I glanced to my left out the window, seeing the buildings below us. We began to descend and slowed. I nodded to my friends and we all tugged off our headphones and unstrapped ourselves from the seats. Once we came to a complete stop, hovering ten feet above the surface, I opened my door and jumped out, releasing Greninja at the same time. He jumped and caught me, getting me to the ground safely. He then leaned back his head, his tongue shooting towards the helicopter, wrapping itself around Alex, lowering her to the ground before doing the same for Robert. The door shut, but not before Looker gave us an unofficial thumbs up.

"Its them!"

We turned to see a group of six Flare grunts rushing towards us alongside their Pokemon.

"Ah," Robert nodded, already grabbing his pokeball. "The welcoming committee. How nice."

"Greninja," I held out my hand. "Water Pulse!"

"Vespiquen, Attack Order!" Alex shouted while Robert yelled, "Pin Missile!"

The combined attacks from Greninja, Vespiquen, and Chesnaught blasted the enemy back, creating a small explosion which covered them in a dust cloud.

"Let's get moving," I ordered, motioning with my hand and taking off at a run towards the center of town. I motioned with my hand towards the roof of a building and Greninja nodded, leaping onto it and following us from the rooftops.

"So what's our objective exactly?" Alex asked as we ran.

"Destroy the weapon at all costs before it activates," I answered. "If we can't do that, then we find where it's getting its power and destroy that."

I skidded to a halt as a woman came into view, standing in the middle of the road. A Team Flare admin. Just beyond her loomed the Ultimate Weapon, casting a long shadow over us.

"Grunts to the right," Alex warned, letting out Ninetales.

"Anyone else worried about how not worried we are?" Robert asked, sounding a bit worried.

"You are worried, don't worry," I said, letting out Corvisquire. "But not about fighting. About letting that weapon fire."

"Good to know," a heavy sound came from near Robert, indicating that he had let out his Snorlax.

"No chance you can let us pass?" I called over to the admin.

The woman smirked, putting a hand on her hip as her Liepard stepped forwards and crouched, snarling. "Don't count on it, Zeno. We're here to make sure you don't get any further. Then we can retreat to our bunker and watch the current world be burned away."

"So you guys all paid 5 million to get into Team Flare, correct?" Robert asked unexpectedly.

She looked taken aback. "Yes, of course. Only those with the money willing to do something about the world can get in. A way to sort out the riffraff I imagine."

"Then that means you're just a bunch of rich snobs who rely on their Pokemon to get the job done," Robert taunted, wagging a finger. "But once they're taken out, how will you stop us?"

The admin took an involuntarily step back. "I-I don't think we'll have trouble taking three kids out."

"That's where you're wrong," Alex smirked. "We're the three who saved Alola, remember? What's one small organization standing in our way to save the world?"

The woman clenched her teeth and thrust out her hand. "Liepard, attack! Dark Pulse!"

"Greninja!" I shouted. "Block with Water Pulse!"

Greninja leaped from the building, holding out the sphere of water in front of him, holding off the Dark Pulse for several seconds before it resulted in a mini-explosion. A split-second before the blast, Greninja leaped away, landing next to me.

"Corvisquire, Greninja," I said. "Pluck and Cut!"

Corvisquire swooped in on Liepard, plucking at her flank before flying high to avoid a counter-attack. Greninja, taking advantage of her momentary distraction flew past her, slashing as he went. Corvisquire made one last dive, driving his beak into her back. The Dark type collapsed and the admin took another couple steps back, looking less cocky than she had before.

I glanced behind me to see Alex and Robert's Pokemon faring well, finishing off the last of the grunts' Pokemon. Then the Ultimate Weapon's core of blue energy began to glow and blue pulses zapped outwards. I watched as tiny pebbles began floating into the air and my body tingled at the electric-like sensation rippling through the air. It disappeared once the pebbles fell back to earth and the pulses ceased.

"Okay," Alex rubbed her eyes. "What was that?"

"Energy displacement?" Robert guessed. "I believe the Ultimate Weapon is still storing up power, but some of it is leaking. My guess is if those power surges continue, they'll get stronger and begin lifting heavier things into the air. Namely us, our Pokemon, and the houses if they're foundations don't hold. The ones tipped over didn't seem to have very strong ones."

I saw the admin pale at this revelation. "Lysandre never said anything about this! Team Flare, back to the bunker!"

Pokemon were returned and the grunts began running Northwest, weaving between overturned houses with broken windows.

"C'mon," I said, hurrying over to the base of the Ultimate Weapon. "Robert, you're the tech expert. How do we disable or destroy this thing?"

"I don't think we can," he rapped on the weapon, then immediately pulled back his hand. "Okay, don't do that. I can feel my hair starting to stand up on end. I don't know if it would be wise to destroy this machine on the exterior. Who knows what could happen with the energy displacement."

"Then we have to go after the grunts to their bunker," I decided. "I'm sure that's where they have this weapon hooked up to the power source. Which should be Yveltal and the Frozen Light. If we disconnect it, crisis over, right?"

"In theory," Robert nodded. "It's the best plan of action we got, so we have to go with it."

"Then we should hurry before another power surge hits..." I trailed off, about to start running, then stopped. I looked around at the overturned houses and destruction. "Robert, can you tell me what the IP are doing?"

"Give me just a sec," he tapped away, then brought his head back up. "They're still outside the town, coming up with a plan of action. Apparently there's still members of Team Flare there. Maybe they weren't radioed about going back to the bunker?"

"Doesn't matter," I grimaced. "The fact that we don't see any residents doesn't bode well. The ones that could run likely did so already. Those who couldn't could still be in trouble."

"I can stay for that," Robert volunteered immediately. "They'll need medical attention and I'm not just able to provide aid to Pokemon. Both will be needed, I'm sure."

"Alex?" I looked at her, the question unasked.

"Of course," she nodded firmly, understanding clear in her emerald eyes. "I'll help Robert with the injured. Just," she gripped my hand. "Make sure to win and don't die. I know you can handle an evil team, but still..."

I placed my other hand atop hers. "Don't worry about me. You guys get your job done and I'll get mine. If the IP arrive, then feel free to come after me."

"Will do," Alex nodded and hurried after Robert who was already heading to one of the houses.

"Let's go you two," I said to Greninja and Corvisquire and we ran off after where we saw Team Flare leaving to. Making our way to the Northwest corner of town, I headed down on a path leaving the town and into the countryside. There seemed to be stone ruins farther along the trail, which was the only thing close to Geosenge to act as an entrance to a secret underground bunker.

"Fly ahead Corvisquire," I instructed. "Find that bunker."

He cawed and flapped his wings, a burst of air streaming behind him as he soared ahead of us. Once Greninja and I had reached the cluster of upright stones, the Flying type had perched himself atop one that had multiple stones placed together in a small house-like structure. Circling around it, I stopped when rock gave way to smooth metal. Another elevator, similar to the one back at Team Flare's HQ back in Lumiose.

I felt the wind shift and the grass around pointed away from Geosenge. I looked up to see the Ultimate Weapon pulsing energy once again and for the ten seconds it lasted for, I feared I was too late to stop it. Then it stopped and I breathed a sigh of relief. Focusing back on the elevator, I realized I would need a Key Card to get into it and I had no idea if I could break into it. Frustrated, I banged my hand on the doors and to my great surprise, they opened. The only thought that came to mind was that in their hurry, a member of Team Flare must have forgotten to lock it. Not wanting to doubt the good fortune that had blessed me, I stepped into the elevator. Greninja stood beside me and Corvisquire flew in to perch on my shoulder.

Seeing only two options on the button panel, I pressed the Down Button and the doors closed. The ride down was quick and smooth and I barely felt a jolt when we stopped. The doors reopened to reveal more than just a bunker. Computers were set up in rows, each one manned by a grunt or someone in a lab coat and glasses. Down a walkway with the Flare symbol painted upon it, it lead towards some stairs and a man with his back to me. His flaming hair like a lions mane as he stared through a window where I could only see orange glowing cables connecting to the ceiling inside the other room.

All eyes turned towards me as I walked down through past the rows of machinery, heading straight for the leader of Team Flare. My footsteps echoed, louder than the beeps and buzzing. I stopped at the foot of the stairs, staring up at him.

"Lysandre," I said, standing firm. "This ends now."

He glanced back at me, and for a moment, I could see pain and regret lingering in those eyes of his. Then it was gone, replaced by cold, unforgiving blue as he turned to face me, determined to see his plan through to the very end.

**Not even half the length of the last chapter, but that's because what comes next I'm going to try and make as epic as possible. You people who've played the XY games know what I'm talking about. The climax of the Death Arc is upon us and if possible, I'll get it out tonight for a double update. More than likely tomorrow or the next day, but you never know. Because if I say one thing I usually end up doing the other. Well, till next time. Toodles**


	55. Chapter 53: Wings of Death

"So you arrived." Lysandre turned fully to face me, staring down at me. Behind him and through the glass, I could see the thick cables pulse with orange light. "Why do you persist so? Can't you see what this world has accomplished? Overpopulation, strife, pollution. I mean to end all that and yet someone like you stands in my way."

"Those are noble wishes," I admitted. "But how you choose to go about achieving all of that is wrong. As someone who has seen the dark side of this world for too long, I know where you're coming from. That's why I can't allow what you're doing," I gritted my teeth, barely withholding my rage. "Do you even know how many innocents you will end up killing!?"

Lysandre's shoulders shook slightly and a couple tears rolled down his cheeks. "I do, Zeno. I know there are good people out there. I know of all the wonderful creatures known as Pokemon that have nothing to do with this," He dried his face with one hand. "I regret that only the ones in Team Flare shall survive, but it must be done."

He reached into his suit and withdrew a pokeball. "And that is why I will stop you myself. I will do what I must to ensure that Team Flare succeeds and the Ultimate Weapon fires."

I closed my eyes, gripping both fists. "As much as I would love to fight you here, I can't do that."

I swung my arm, launching Corvisquire towards him. His wings glowed as he slammed one into Lysandre's chest, knocked him to the ground. Greninja and I rushed forwards, spotting a door to our left. Not willing to take any chances, I shot out my hand as we ran. "Water Shuriken and Drill Peck!"

The door exploded inwards and I rushed down the white stairwell, nearly falling while doing so. Greninja caught me and we kept going. Along the way, we passed several doors. One of them made me stop as I stared through the small window into what looked like a hospital room. Laying on a bed was a Chespin, radiating green light while hooked up to a machine. Two people sat with their backs to me, the taller of the two placing a hand on the shorter one's back. My mind registered the blue scarf, but I shook my head and continued down the stairs. Whoever that was and why I recognized it could come after I destroyed the Ultimate Weapon.

I skidded to a halt, a large square door in our way. It was colored a deep red, the Flare symbol painted front-and-center. An electronic keypad sat on it on the left and I gritted my teeth. Of all the times not to have Robert. I slammed one fist on the door, knowing it would have been made to withstand a large blast, which would mean a lot of heat. So melting it wasn't an option.

My eyes widened as I got an idea. I turned to my Pokemon. "Keep Team Flare at bay if they try to come and stop us. I only need a couple minutes at most."

I dug out my Holo Caster and prayed that it would work this far underground. It only showed a fuzzy blue screen for a second before the person I was trying to reach picked up.

_"Hello?"_ Clemont asked, confused. _"Oh, Zeno. How are-"_

"No time Clemont," I cut him off and pointed the device at the lock. "Can you hack this from where you're at?"

_"Um,"_ he rubbed the back of his head. _"Maybe?"_

"I'll take that," I said hurriedly. "Can you please try. And hurry. There's not a whole lot of time."

There were voices in the background and I recognized Ash, Serena, and Bonnie's. Then Ash's became the loudest. _"You're in Geosenge Town!?"_

"Yeah," I nodded, but they couldn't see me as I was still pointing the camera at the lock. "I can shut down this whole crisis, I just need to get through this door."

_"Hold on,"_ Clemont said, sounding nervous as the sound of quick typing could be heard. _"This is a bit difficult. Actually being there might be a lot faster, but I don't know how long this could take."_

The hologram flickered before a second person entered the call, making Clemont's image slightly smaller. _"Should be less now that I'm here."_

"Robert!?" I exclaimed. "Is everything taken care of up there?"

_"Mostly,"_ I heard Alex's voice as Robert and Clemont continued to type furiously. _"IP has finally gotten in and are helping with the wounded and are currently trying to head into the bunker. Team Flare must not want us in there because they rushed out the moment we got within 50 feet of the stones."_

I heard a small explosion behind me and looked to see Greninja in a fighting stance as Flare Admins were hurrying down the stairs with their Pokemon, Lysandre among them.

"Yeah, they don't like me being in here as much either," I said. "You two done!? I don't got a whole lot of time here!"

_"Hold! On!"_ Both grunted and suddenly the lock clicked and the doors hissed and began opening.

"Thanks!" I began backing up into the room. "Close it behind me!"

_"Is that safe!?" _Alex shouted, but I yelled, "DO IT!"

I dropped the Holo Caster and quickly pulled out both pokeballs and returned Greninja and Corvisquire before the doors could close. Just as I saw Lysandre coming to the doors, they closed.

Robert's voice was fuzzy. _"I changed the lock, but they should be able to hack their way in soon enough. Hurry Ze-!"_ The Holo Caster shut off and I was left alone in this semi-dark room. I was made all too aware of the faint thrum of noise around me, thick cables connected to the wall around my feet all leading behind me. I turned to see a large machine in the middle of the orange-lit room with something that looked like a large decayed cocoon sitting atop of it. More cables originating from the sides of this machine linked upwards to where I assumed they connected to the Ultimate Weapon.

"Xerneas is a tree," I stepped forward. "And you're a cocoon, Yveltal." I grimaced, not knowing how to go about this. There was no visible control panel and if I destroyed the cables, I could end up hurting Yveltal.

I glanced behind me. They weren't through the door yet, which was good. But Robert was right. I didn't have enough time to figure things out. I had to act now.

I released Greninja. "I need you to cut those cables feeding the Ultimate Weapon."

He nodded and readied his shurikens. He moved his webbed fingers and one more appeared in each hand. He crouched, narrowing his eyes. With a flick of his wrists, the four Water Shurikens flew through the air, each one slicing the cables. With large blasts of sparks, they swung outwards. Greninja grabbed me and moved me back to the door to avoid the worse of the sparks. The room dimmed and flickered as only the sound of sparks could be heard.

Then, a sharp cry echoed throughout the room. Red light shone through the cracks of the cocoon as a red field of energy surrounded him. He began to unfurl himself, two large hand-like appendages curling out, the skin pulsing red with black lines extending from both arms to the head. A third similar appendage stretched out behind him and he opened his mouth to cry out, a sound that sent shivers running down my spine. He rose on two clawed feet, blue eyes homing in on Greninja and I. Dark grey fur around his neck wafted behind him like smoke and when he flapped his wings, he rose into the air a little, his body forming a Y-shape. His presence seemed to have its own aura, one that filled the room with the feeling of death and darkness.

"The Destruction Pokemon," I said in awe, but with also a deep feeling of foreboding. I had just disconnected the Ultimate Weapon to its Power Source, correct? I had saved Yveltal, but did he know that?

Suddenly, Greninja kicked me in the chest as he leaped backwards, a beam of dark red energy blasting against the door where we had been standing. Yveltal gave another cry, choosing to focus his attention onto me. He flapped his wings, a large hurricane of wind and sparks forming in front of him, cascading down on me.

I slammed a hand on the ground, focusing, stretching my mind and my emotions. Greninja leaped in front of me and I felt a snap and a column of water erupted around him, wild and uncontrolled due to the lack of concentration. This was what we needed however as both wind and water collided, Greninja holding his own for a couple seconds before being blasted against the wall.

"C'mon," I gritted my teeth, standing as I could feel the strain on our connection. "We can do this! Greninja!"

He yelled and the water burst before being drawn back in to form his cloak and water-based weapons. His red eyes flashed and I turned to look at Yveltal. "I saved you! You're free to leave this place! There's no point in fighting!"

Whether it was from confusion or just his nature, Yveltal flapped his wings to drift higher, a wave of darkness spreading from him. I swung my hands in an x-motion, Greninja copying my motion with twin blades of darkness, interrupting the attack. The rest of the Dark Pulse hit the room on all sides, cables flying about as well as sparks. Greninja held himself over me, the sparks bouncing off his cloak. I could feel several hit his skin, stinging me as it was him.

"Water Shuriken," I said through gritted teeth and Greninja leapt away, flinging the shurikens at Yveltal, each one hitting him in the head. Despite Greninja being in his Bond Form, I knew we were severely outmatched as Yveltal only swung his head to clear the droplets.

I swung out both Corvisquire and Mawile. "Greninja, keep on the offense! Mawile, boost your defense with Iron Defense! Corvisquire, fly in and out with Drill Peck!"

Yveltal, focused on Greninja, narrowed his eyes and his body began glowing blue. Corvisquire's attack simply bounced off of him without a reaction as well as Greninja's Water Pulse. Then the Legendary Pokemon zoomed forwards, smashing Greninja in the wall. I stumbled back, holding my chest with both arms, groaning at the sensation.

"Cut and Double Team," I hissed through the pain and Greninja managed to free himself from Yveltal's grasp and multiplied himself by a dozen. Yveltal flew backwards, turning faster than I could utter a command, grasping Corvisquire in one claw. His body pulsed red and a beam of dark red energy slammed into Corvisquire head-on.

After a couple seconds, I managed to return him to his pokeball, having seen the life beginning to drain from him. Yveltal, who may have been injured before, was now looking much healthier. Mawile stepped forwards, nodding at me.

"Mawile," I thrust out my hand. "Sucker Punch then Play Rough!"

Mawile leaped forwards, slamming her back jaw into Yveltal's chest, then proceeded to bash him with all her limbs. Yveltal's eyes glowed pink and a similar colored aura surrounded Mawile and flung her away. The Legendary cried out as Greninja brought down a large shuriken on his back before leaping away as a beam of life-sucking energy blasted by, carving into the metal walls.

"We can't stay in here," I realized. "He'll bring everything crashing down on us!"

Then the room began to shake, sparks flying. I heard a buzzing sort of noise, then the weight of something huge being blasted.

"The Ultimate Weapon," I cast my gaze upward. "Did it fire?"

I blinked and backed away, returning Mawile. "Greninja, we need to get out of here!"

Already having assessed my emotions, Greninja was by my side in an instant as we sprinted for the door. Already bent and cracked, all we had to do was stand in front of it and leap aside, Yveltal's attacks crumpling it. We ran for the stairs, Team Flare nowhere in sight. Then the explosion hit.

I heard the room collapse behind us and Greninja turned around, whipping his cloak off. It expanded to cover us, blocking some of the explosion. Greninja turned and wrapped me in his arms, shielding my body as the blast knocked us away and sent me into darkness.

...

I coughed, blinking. My ears were ringing and vision hazy. Smoke drifted past me and I coughed again. I struggled to shaky legs, seeing that the way we had come from was now nothing but rubble. I glanced back to see the white decor scorched black, but mostly undamaged. The way up was still clear thankfully. But the damage should have been more vast...

"Greninja," I wanted to shout, but my voice was hoarse. I looked around me to see Greninja lying a couple feet to my right. He was burned and his breathing ragged, but he was alive. Fumbling for his pokeball, I returned him and began stumbling up the stairs. For what seemed like ages I climbed, but soon I reached the top to see the control room void of Team Flare. Making my way into the elevator, I punched the Up Button and was at the surface in no time.

I stepped out to see blue skies and a gentle breeze. I fell to both knees, relieved that the world was safe. Then I heard Yveltal's disturbing cry and I turned my head to look back at Geosenge Town. Smoke rose from where the Ultimate Weapon had been and the Legendary Pokemon of Destruction rose above it, flapping his large wings as he blasted the ground with the crimson energy beam.

I cursed, struggling to continue on. I didn't believe my wounds were fatal thanks to Greninja, but they were still slowing me down. Something wiggled on my hip and a pokeball burst open, Arcanine appearing in front of me. He woofed and knelt low, offering me his back. Smiling, I gripped his fur and tugged myself on him. He stood and once he made sure I had a tight enough grip, took off for town. We burst back into the city in time for another beam of energy to rip a trench of dirt into the ground, splitting an overturned house in two.

"Zeno!" I heard someone yell and I could hear running. I tried to lift my head, but felt a flash of pain. Trying to think through the fog in my mind, I wondered if my wounds were worse than I had originally first thought.

I heard, no felt, something coming as I was being pulled off my Pokemon's back. Gritting my teeth, I croaked, "Arcanine. Protect them!" then I slumped as I felt darkness overtake me once more.

Arcanine howled and slammed both feet forward, a wall of heat blasting against the beam of energy aimed directly in our direction. Arcanine then ran forwards, accelerating as he did so. He leaped and bounced off the side of a house, spinning into a wheel of flames. He slammed into Yveltal, bringing both Pokemon crashing to the earth. He dug his teeth into one of his wings and pulled with all his might, hefting the Legendary Pokemon of Destruction into a building. It groaned and collapsed, making Yveltal cry out in pain or fury.

With an explosion, he rose back into the sky, slicing the air towards Arcanine. The Fire type crouched and rocketed forwards, avoiding the attack. He opened his maw and blasted Yveltal with a jet of flames, causing the Legendary to turn and soar towards Arcanine, both Pokemon weaving through the town. Putting on an extra burst of speed, Arcanine sped out of Geosenge and towards the rocky hill that housed Reflection Cave. He zoomed up the mountain without needing a trail and came to a stop on a flat piece of rock overlooking Geosenge.

Yveltal, having followed the Fire type, hovered 50 feet away at the same eye level, meeting Arcanine's gaze. The Legendary Pokemon, not Yveltal, bowed his head, feeling the Destruction Pokemon's inner turmoil as his thoughts were clouded with confusion. He backed up, crouching in preparation to run. Yveltal's body glowed blue as he spread his wings, eyes glowing bright. Arcanine sprang first, sprinting full tilt. Yveltal roared, soaring forwards as air streamed off his body. Flames sprung from Arcanine's fur, sharpening itself into a point, an arrow of fire. He leapt from the edge of the staggering drop below, blazing straight for Yveltal. The Destruction Pokemon surged onwards and the two Legendary Pokemon collided in a devastating explosion of fire and wind. The shock waves rippled through the air, blowing back trees and shaking the stones outside of Geosenge. A single howl filtered through the explosion and was followed by silence as only destruction remained.

**An epic finale to the Death Arc. Zeno is injured to an unknown degree and Team Flare's plan to use the Ultimate Weapon has been demolished. With the crisis averted, Zeno, Alex, and Robert can focus on the remainder of the journey that lies ahead of them that will ultimately lead them to the Kalos Pokemon League. Thus we enter the Kalos League Arc. We're still no closer to ending this book, so be prepared for the surprises I have in store for you all. Till next time. Toodles**

A single man stood in front of the ruins of the Ultimate Weapon, having been fired upon itself. Despite his massive size, he seemed to be unnoticed by the International Police and various reporters. His ragged clothes and scraggly white hair indicated he didn't take care of himself and he seemed to be lost in thought as he stared at the weapon he had once created. Closing his eyes briefly, he turned and walked away, as if never there.


	56. Chapter 54: Battle Bonds

_The events that immediately followed the destruction of the Ultimate Weapon in Geosenge Town affected all of Kalos. First and foremost, Geosenge itself. Having sustained massive damage, it currently remains in the rebuilding phase and likely will for the following years. There was also minor damage caused to the Northeastern section just outside the town. An explosion caused midair by unknown causes caused some parts of existing tunnels in Reflection Cave to partially collapse. Proven to still be structurally sound, this wasn't further studied into. _

_What the International Police kept away from the media was several key pieces of information. One, the legends behind the Ultimate Weapon itself. For the rest of Kalos and most of the world, it has been told it was an energy gathering device meant to steal Kalos' energy. Two, the presence of Yveltal, the Legendary Pokemon of Destruction told in myths and history. Third, the involvement of the key figures in the whole Flare Debacle; Zeno, Alex, Robert, and their Pokemon, particularly Arcanine. Having risen from the ruins of the hole created by the Ultimate Weapon, Yveltal proceeded to cause destruction all around him and was only stopped by Zeno's Arcanine. The final moves exchanged between the two have been identified as "Sky Attack" and what Zeno claimed was a Z-move called "Incinerazing Arrow". This move, further claimed by Zeno, couldn't be used without the bond between trainer and Pokemon, and while present, still needed the use of a special Z-crystal and Z-ring which were not used to activate the move. Further research into this phenomenon will have to be put on hold indefinitely as Zeno himself has strongly argued against research involving him, his friends, and all their Pokemon. As he was key in the dismantling of Team Flare's plans in Geosenge involving the destruction of the known world, his wishes will be granted._

_Affects that this incident has on Kalos other than what happened in and around Geosenge Town most notably included the Lumiose Conference, where the Kalos League Tournament has been confirmed to take place this year. Due to earlier events regarding a certain cult, Lumiose underwent construction, but thanks to the gathering of many trainers, repairs were mostly finished by the end of a week. But due to events in Geosenge, the Lumiose Conference postponed the tournament and was scheduled to take place one month after what happened in Geosenge. This is to ensure that potential participating trainers affected by the incident have enough time to recover from injuries and that any arrests made to Team Flare can be wrapped up. However, due to lack of knowledge and computer servers being wiped in Team Flare's Secret HQ outside of Geosenge and the base in Lumiose, it is currently unknown where the remainder of Team Flare is hiding. In two weeks the Lumiose Conference will be held and Zeno's, Greninja's, and Corvisquire's recoveries will be concluded today as long as no other health issues arise. Further involvement of International Police in Kalos' affairs has been strongly recommended by the Champion herself, who seems to be regaining much of her lost strength. With Team Flare and the Cult of Chaos still active somewhere in Kalos, we are to remain here with me being assigned directorship over any future Kalos proceedings._

_To conclude my report, I would like to offer my professional opinion. I believe there is something Zeno has yet to reveal about his time in Team Flare's Secret HQ. While I do not know if this would pertain to finding Team Flare or not, I cannot rule out the possibility and will try to keep tabs on Zeno and his friends in the future. _

**Report Written and Filed by International Police Detective Looker**

...

I stretched as I exited the small hospital, breathing in the fresh air. After being kept in one place for two weeks healing from my injuries, it was going to be nice to get back to my journey soon. Greninja, having healed several days earlier than I had thanks to being a Pokemon stood beside me, mouth open as he smelled the brisk morning air. The sounds of a train arriving and the constant thrum of the nearby waterfalls added to the unique and captivating atmosphere of Couriway Town.

I looked at the pokeball in my hand and my mood soured a little. Corvisquire, having been hit by that life-draining beam directly, was going to take longer to heal. While his injuries were tended to, only time could heal him now. He wouldn't be allowed to battle for another week at least.

"You'll get your chance in the Lumiose Conference," I promised him. "Then you'll show the whole region just how strong you've become." Turning to Greninja, I clasped him on the shoulder. "Let's go find our friends, shall we? They said they would be waiting by the falls."

He croaked in agreement and we headed for the Southeastern edge of the town and up a trail. Fletchlings chirped around us and the ground evened out to a small grassy area at the bank of a small lake with roaring waterfalls. Sitting with a picnic blanket spread out along with food was Alex. Robert was at the water's edge, jotting down notes as he stared intently into it.

Alex grinned when she caught sight of me. "You're alive then. Come on over, the food's been waiting and I've managed to stall Robert."

"I'm starting to believe you having seen a Milotic in this small area was entirely fabricated," Robert came over and sat as Greninja and I did the same. "But that's okay. I got some great information by seeing the Buizels and Floatzels interact with the Basculins."

"How are you doing?" Alex asked.

"Better than ever," I grinned. "I guess resting after that whole incident was just the thing Greninja and I needed."

Greninja croaked in agreement as he leaped into the lake, resting on his back. Smiling, I let out Arcanine and he shook his huge body.

"Thanks again Arcanine," I rubbed his side. "I wish I could have seen you battle Yveltal." I turned to my friends. "What did exactly happen? You guys didn't really talk much about it and Looker with his visits didn't reveal much."

"Not much to say really," Robert said through a mouthful of his sandwich. Once swallowed, he continued. "You were beat up badly and upon inspecting your Pokemon, so were Greninja, Corvisquire, and Mawile, the latter better off than the formers. You let out Arcanine and told him to protect everyone and he rushed off to battle with Yveltal."

Alex picked up from there. "Straight out of town too. Good call with that one, leading the battle away from the already damaged place," she rubbed Arcanine's head who licked her appreciatively. She let out Ninetales who went off to play with Arcanine so as not to get licked again. "They both collided with one another with their two moves as you know, but that's where the battle ended. Yveltal hovered over Arcanine for a minute or two before taking off. Arcanine returned to us, injured from battle, but okay. I still don't get how he used his Z-move without you activating the Z-crystal."

"I don't either," I stared at my Pokemon for a couple seconds. "I think I was still slightly conscious after I let him out, because I remember a tugging sensation. Similar to the bond I feel with Greninja and Lucario when activating their forms. I guess... I may have connected to him on some level to make sure he won." I shook my head. "I still don't understand everything about this bond stuff with my Pokemon, not really."

"Leave that to me," Robert jerked his thumb into his chest. "You do whatever when battling and I'll do the research. In fact," he finished off his sandwich. "We need to get to town soon. It's almost time."

"Time for what?" I asked.

"Ash and Serena were planning on heading over," Alex explained. "Wanted to check up on you. I'm assuming Ash wanted to battle you because he said he had something he wanted to show you. Knowing the both of you, its definitely about Pokemon and battling."

"Makes sense," I quickly ate and called out to Greninja, "Let's go! We got a rival to meet!"

Greninja leaped out of the water and Arcanine padded over to me and Ninetales to Alex. We made our way back to the center of Couriway where there was an arena for Pokemon Battle set up in a hole in the ground. There Ash waved at alongside Serena on a bench facing the battlefield. Serena sported a new haircut along with a new outfit as well. Shorter hair and a reddish-pink fedora along were the most notable differences.

"Nice hat," I complimented her. "You should tell Alex hats like that would work for me as well."

Serena laughed. "I might agree with her you know. I'd have to see it with my own eyes. Though, I do like what you have going."

I looked back at Alex. "See? She likes the trench. You should like it too."

On the way down, I figured if I was going to show off Greninja, then we would do it in full Kage-Shinobi style.

After Alex knocked me on the back of my head, Ash patted me on the back. "It really suits you as my rival. Also, glad you're doing better."

Pikachu made a sound of agreement from his trainer's shoulder, then turned to look at Greninja and Arcanine, who were still beside me. As rivals themselves, they were itching to fight and test one another after so long.

"When was our last battle?" I asked. "Lumiose, correct?"

"Nah," Ash shook his head. "Geosenge. Lumiose wasn't a proper battle between us."

"Okay okay," Serena shook her head, but she looked like she was holding back laughter. "We'll give you two room to battle, so get down there already."

"Yeah," Alex agreed, then asked, "First, where's Clemont and Bonnie?"

"They're back in Lumiose at the gym," Serena explained. "Clemont had things he needed to work on, but both would come and see the tournament when it begins."

"Wait," I had a sudden realization at those words and turned to face Ash. "You didn't..."

Ash nodded and held open the left part of his jacket, showing all eight Kalos gym badges. "Finished last week. Had to deal with some stuff, but everything is better now." His eyes sparked with fiery confidence. "More than better actually. Because the bond with my Pokemon will be sure to trump yours!"

Those words resonated in me and I grinned, matching his gaze with my own. "Really? Well then, let's see whose bond is strongest."

"While you two do that," Robert butted in, holding up his modified piece of technology. "I'll be monitoring the battle."

"Sounds like a plan," Ash and I said in unison, both giving a thumbs up.

Alex palmed her face with her hand. "They're both too alike for their own good."

Ash and I both entered the battlefield on opposite sides by walking down a couple steps of stairs. We took our places at each end, Arcanine and Greninja standing behind me patiently, both knowing they wouldn't be needed right off the bat. Ash's Pikachu looked at his trainers curiously, but Ash shook his head and grinned.

"Full six-on-six?" Ash called out, but I shook my head and called back, "Can't. One of mine is still recovering. Five works."

Ash nodded, then gave a short laugh. "Actually, yeah, we have to do five. One of my Pokemon won't be with me until the league starts. Five-on-five it is."

I though for a second, then grabbed a pokeball. "No holding back, right!?"

"Of course!" Ash shouted, his grin as wide as can be. "I want to see what my rival is truly capable of!"

"Alright then!" I swung my hand, tossing the pokeball into the air. '"Let's show him what we're made of! Mawile!"

She appeared on the ground in front of me, fully healed from her fight against Yveltal. She crouched, her back jaw snarling. Ash swung his own pokeball, releasing Hawlucha.

"A Hawlucha," I raised an eyebrow. "So you've added to your team since Geosenge."

"You bet," Ash said proudly. "You ain't seen nothing yet."

"Good," I said, grinning. "Mawile, Sucker Punch!"

As Ash shouted, "Flying Press!" Mawile darted forwards, leaping up and smashing her jaw into Hawlucha's chest as he jumped, knocking him back.

"Come back with Karate Chop!" Ash yelled and Hawlucha shot around Mawile, delivering a chop against her back.

"Counter with Crunch!" I commanded.

Mawile's back jaw snapped at Hawlucha, closing around his arm. She then planted her feet into the ground and swung him over her head, slamming him into the ground.

"Keep it up!" I shouted.

"Go with Bounce!" Ash pumped his fist into the air and Hawlucha quickly got to his feet while still attached to Mawile and catapulted both of them into the sky. "Slam her to the ground!" Hawlucha dived towards the ground, swinging himself so Mawile hit first, and hard. She tumbled through the dirt, but got back up again right away.

"To be expected from someone who has all eight gym badges," I nodded appreciatively. "But we're not done yet!" I thrust out my hand. "Iron Defense!"

Mawile stood her ground, boosting her defense as a shiny metal gleam coated her entire body.

"Again!" I shouted as Ash yelled, "High Jump Kick!"

Hawlucha leaped into the air and directed his knee towards Mawile. Just as he closed in on her, I shouted, "Baton Pass!"

Mawile smirked as she was immediately sucked back into her pokeball and Hawlucha's knee hit the ground hard, hurting him instead of his intended target.

"Alright," I swung out Pawniard. "Laser Focus!"

Pawniard's eyes gleamed as Hawlucha got to his feet, crouching in a wrestler's position.

"Let's take him out in one hit!" Ash called out to his Pokemon. "Flying Press!"

"Psycho Cut!"

Pawniard swung both arms, two blades of psychic energy colliding with Hawlucha. He landed on his back, the damage output boosted by the Laser Focus.

"Sword Dance while he's down," I commanded.

"Get back up and use Karate Chop!"

Just as Pawniard finished, he was slammed backwards, tumbling head over heels through the ground. He skidded to a halt on his face, picking himself up by planting his blades for hands into the stone ground.

"C'mon," I shouted. "You can win this! Psycho Cut!"

Pawniard ran forwards, slashing his arms over and over.

"Dodge!" Ash ordered and Hawlucha ran forwards as well, dodging each incoming blade of psychic energy.

"Pawniard!" I shouted as the two Pokemon closed in on each other. Then Pawniard crossed his arms, each blade enlarging to several feet. They caught Hawlucha in the middle, blasting him backwards over ten feet where he fainted.

"Yes!" I shouted as Ash returned his Pokemon. "Guillotine!"

Pawniard cheered right along with me, so proud and happy that he began glowing. I hadn't had him for that long, so I was surprised at these turn of events as he evolved into a Bisharp. But then again, he was Clara's before he was with me. He made a metal, echoing sound as he finished evolving, standing tall and proud. I was reminded of a story I had heard in the Parfum Palace about the Bisharp general.

"So he evolved," Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Always a sight to see. This just means I definitely shouldn't take you lightly. Man am I so psyched!" He grinned foolishly, showing he was still just a child on the inside.

Alex's earlier comments struck me in that moment. _"They're both too alike for their own good."_

_"No,"_ I thought. _"I was molded from a darker time. Ash is someone who never had to deal with the amount of evil I went through. We couldn't be more different in that aspect."_

"Talonflame!" Ash shouted, showing off his evolved Fletchinder. "Let's burn bright as we soar towards victory! Flame Charge!"

"Night Slash!" I yelled.

Bisharp ran forwards, his arm blades darkening. He leaped and both Pokemon collided, blasting Bisharp back further than Talonflame. He skidded onto his feet, before launching himself back at the Fire type.

"Metal Burst!"

Bisharp slammed his arms together, over a dozen pieces of shrapnel flying away from him towards Talonflame. They battered the Flying type who blasted the rest away by enveloping his body with fire once more.

"Flame Charge again!" Ash shouted. "Don't be caught by Guillotine!"

Talonflame soared around Bisharp, gaining speed as he went. Bisharp was having a hard time keeping his eyes trained on the enemy, whirling his head around in different directions.

"Slash your arms around you while using Night Slash!" I ordered and Bisharp was quick to obey. He spun his arms around in many directions, dark winds slicing through the air around him, several slashing against Talonflame, knocking him away from Bisharp and cancelling the Flame Charge.

"Get right back in there and use Steel Wing!" Ash ordered and Talonflame flew at speeds I couldn't even see, already having slammed his wings into Bisharp before I could blink.

"One strike," Ash grinned, holding out his hand confidently. "That's all we need. Flare Blitz!"

Fire exploded around Talonflame as it turned blue and he streaked for Bisharp. I had no time to utter a command, but Bisharp managed to slam his arms together in the instant before Talonflame blasted him into the wall behind me. He had fainted, but his battle hadn't yet ended. Metal shards had flown out from him a moment before Talonflame struck and now they all homed in on the Fire type and bombarded him.

"Amazing job," I whispered as I returned Bisharp. "You learned a new move and evolved. Together, we'll do great things. We will win the league. But first comes this battle."

"Lucario," I sent him out. "Let's win this!"

He growled in agreement and readied his fists. He glanced back at me and I shook my head. "No mega evolving this time. But that's no excuse to go all out." He hrred and nodded, turning back to the battle.

"Talonflame, ready your flames," Ash said. "It's going to take all we have to take him out!

"Bullet Punch!" I shouted and Lucario leaped and pummeled Talonflame with flying fists. "Meteor Mash!" He then kicked off of Talonflame's back and into the air, drawing back a glowing fist.

"Aerial Ace!"

Talonflame zoomed about, slamming into Lucario's side, stopping his attack. Lucario fell on both feet, and upon my command, sprung forwards at high speeds, becoming a blur. He kicked off the ground, pummeling Talonflame with quick strikes before darting away before being hit by an attack. The Flying type glowed blue as he flew fast to keep up with Lucario.

"Now!" I shouted. "Force Palm!"

Lucario twisted his body, skidding backwards, and now facing Talonflame. He slammed both palms together, sparks of electricity flying. He flung both paws outwards, the generated electricity striking Talonflame, paralyzing him and causing him to fall to the ground. Lucario slid to a stop, leaping back into the air, readying a Meteor Mash. Talonflame rose unsteadily into the air, flinching at the sparks coursing around his body. Then Lucario slammed his fist into him, driving the Fire type back into the ground where he then proceeded to punch him once with a glowing fist. Talonflame had been defeated.

"Lucario sure has grown," Ash nodded appreciatively. "I remember when he was just a Riolu." He returned Talonflame and sent out a Pokemon I hadn't yet seen in person.

"A Noivern?" I said, surprised. Then, "Three Flying types? Really?"

"Hey, I don't choose," Ash smiled proudly. "They choose me."

I understood that sentiment well.

"Swords Dance," I said, Lucario pumping both fists at his sides, attack increasing.

"Boomburst!" Ash yelled, thrusting out an arm. Noivern reared back his head, then waves of sound blasted from his ears and assaulted the stone ground, heading for Lucario. Unable to escape the attack, he shuddered from the intensity, dropping to one knee.

Noivern then flew towards him, claws glowing. He raked them upwards, sending Lucario flying. He crashed onto his back, but got back to his feet, snarling. His maw glowed as he held his head back and unleashed a beam of draconic energy at Noivern. He flew to the side to avoid the beam, but Lucario twisted his head, blasting the Dragon type in the left wing.

"Blast him with Hurricane!" Ash shouted and Noivern flapped his wings, a cyclone of wind cascading down on Lucario.

"Close Combat!" I shouted and Lucario flung his limbs, knocking away some of the wind, but was still caught up in the hurricane and sent flying backwards. He struggled to his feet, planting one paw on his knee to help himself up.

"No," I held out his pokeball. "You've done great. You should rest for now. Let Arcanine finish the fight."

He looked at me for a second, then nodded wearily. I returned him and Arcanine padded forwards, shaking himself as he bared his fangs. Briefly, I wondered just how powerful Arcanine really was if he was able to take on Yveltal and come out barely injured. Then I focused back on the battle. Ash had already gotten his 8 gym badges, which meant he was already a step ahead of me, if not more. Beating him here would mean I would be ready for the League.

"Alright then," I breathed. "Arcanine, Flame Wheel and Agility!"

Arcanine ran and curled into a wheel of flames, going faster as he sped towards Noivern.

"Knock him off course with Boomburst!" Ash commanded, Noivern blasting the earth with the sonic attack.

"Hold it back with Heat Wave!" I yelled.

Arcanine uncurled and slammed all four paws on the ground, waves of heat rolling off of him and barely managing to hold back the bursting sound. Then Noivern flew past him, slashing with his wings, causing Arcanine to roar in pain. The Dragon type flew around, maw brimming with draconic energy.

"Dragon Pulse!" Ash and I both shouted, both of our Pokemon firing beams of energy. They collided, rippling the air around them. Then Noivern's beam weakened and he was blasted by the energy. Taking advantage of the situation, Arcanine burst forwards, teeth brimming with electricity.

"Air Cutter!" Ash yelled and Noivern, trying to get back up in the air, sliced the air in Arcanine's direction.

"Dodge it!" I ordered and Arcanine weaved around the attacks, clamping his fangs on Noivern's right wing, electricity coursing through the Flying type's body.

"Boomburst!" Ash commanded and Noivern turned his head, blasting Arcanine with the full force of his sonic attack. The Fire type was pushed backwards, rolling head-over-heels.

"Flame Wheel!" I shouted and Arcanine used his momentum to spin into a fiery wheel, blazing around Noivern.

"Boomburst again!"

"Faster!" I yelled and Arcanine barreled straight into the attack, the power of the move blasting him into the air while still curled in Flame Wheel.

"Go for it!" I roared and Arcanine blasted towards Noivern.

Ash's eyes widened, then quickly shouted, "Whirlwind!"

Noivern desperately flapped his wings, a strong gust of wind pushing against Arcanine, returning him to his pokeball immediately. Just as quick, Mawile was brought back out onto the battlefield.

"Fine then," I swung my arm. "Sucker Punch!"

Mawile rushed for Noivern, slamming him in the middle.

"Burn her with Flamethrower!" Ash commanded and the Dragon type blasted jets of flames at Mawile, engulfing her.

"Protect with Fairy Wind!" I yelled and Mawile forced the flames apart with a gust of pink wind. She then directed it at Noivern before leaping at him. "Play Rough!"

Mawile began beating up Noivern however she could, biting him with her back jaw or punching him in the sides. Noivern tried to shake her off, even blasting another Flamethrower, but she tightened her jaw on his wing, punching him one last time in the head. The Dragon type hovered erratically before dropping to the ground, fainted. Mawile stepped back, panting and burnt in several places.

As Ash returned Noivern, I returned Mawile. "You did amazing. Now let's see what we can do here."

"Pikachu," Ash grinned at his long-time partner. "I choose you!"

"Pika!" Pikachu leaped forwards, cheeks sparking.

"Come back out Arcanine," I said, letting the Fire type back out to face his rival. He was already weakened from earlier, but he still narrowed his eyes and prepared to run.

"Start off strong," Ash shouted, grinning. "Volt Tackle!"

"Extreme Speed!" I roared.

Both Pokemon took off at a run, electricity surrounding Pikachu as he ran. An explosion rang out as they collided, both being pushed back five feet.

"Flamethrower!"

"Thunderbolt!"

Both moves struck one another, crackling and popping where they connected. Then the Thunderbolt began overpowering the Flamethrower.

"Extreme Speed!" I shouted again and Arcanine zoomed away, the Thunderbolt harmlessly hitting the earth.

"Quick Attack!" Ash yelled. "Full force, then Iron Tail!"

Both butted heads and Pikachu used the momentum to swing himself around, aiming to slam his tail into Arcanine's head.

"Fire Fang!"

Quick as a flash, Arcanine gripped his jaw down on Pikachu's tail, letting the fire spread across the small Pokemon's body before tossing him into the air. Pikachu's face was clenched in pain, but he sparked with electricity as a thundercloud formed above him and a huge bolt of lightning slammed down on the Fire type, causing him to howl in pain while being electrified.

"Agility!" I shouted and Arcanine began vibrating, faster and faster, then finally bursting forwards to Pikachu, who had landed on the ground ten feet away. Streams of fire and electricity trailed behind Arcanine as he roared, leaping and slamming back onto the ground, rolling towards his enemy in a Flame Wheel.

"Volt Tackle behind him and use Electro Ball!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu swerved away from Arcanine, leaping and tossing a ball of electricity towards him.

"Burn straight through it!" I yelled.

Arcanine rolled faster, the flames turning blue as it sparked with electricity from the Thunder, disintegrating the Electro Ball instantly. He slammed into Pikachu, sending the Mouse Pokemon flying past me and slamming into the wall, creating a large crater. As the small cloud of dust began clearing, Ash shouted, "Quick Attack and Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu zoomed from the hole and straight for Arcanine, cheeks sparking."Piiiikaaaaa!"

"Reversal!" I yelled quickly and Arcanine began glowing orange.

"CHUUUUUUUUU!"

With a mighty roar, Arcanine threw himself forwards, the Thunderbolt slamming into him as he collided with Pikachu, dealing massive damage as another explosion whipped back my hair and trench. When the battle settled, both Pokemon were unable to battle.

I heaved a sigh, returning Arcanine. "Good job, buddy. Now let me and Greninja finish." I looked back at him and Greninja nodded firmly, stepping forwards.

"You said you had something to show me, right?" I turned back to Ash. "Now's the time."

"Indeed it is," Ash smiled, looking more serious now. "It's time to show you what me and my Pokemon are truly capable of."

He held out his pokeball, letting out a Greninja. Both of our same species Pokemon met each other's gazes, both nodding in respect of the other. On the sidelines, Robert was hurrying setting up his equipment, eagerly putting on a pair of huge headphones.

"This will be a test run," I said to Greninja. "Right here we can truly gauge just how far we've come on our journey. Don't hold anything back, Greninja."

He croaked in agreement, adopting a ninja pose, hand in front of his face. Similarly, Ash's Greninja did the same.

"Water Shuriken!" Ash shouted and his Greninja threw two shurikens towards us.

"Cut," I said and Greninja whipped out a glowing blade, slicing both attacks in two.

I crouched slightly, feeling a rush of energy. "GO!"

Greninja shot forwards, brandishing two blades.

"NOW!" Ash roared and his Greninja ran to meet mine, two blades in his webbed hands as well.

Both clashed, striking and slashing, trading blows for blows, blocking and pushing forwards. Seconds later, both Pokemon leaped back closer to their trainers. I saw Ash breathe in deeply, then his eyes flashed.

"Let's show them how far we've come!" he shouted, pumping his fist into the air. "GRENINJA!"

To my utter surprise, a column of water shot up around his Greninja, making my eyes widen. It blasted apart, forming around him. A large shuriken was attached to his back and red lightning bolt-shaped streaks on what looked similar to Ash's spiky black hair, the fin on the middle of his head now red. A small gasp of amazement left me, and the sentiment was shared with my Greninja. He looked similar to Ash. We had thought, believed our bond to be unique, but now it appeared that Ash and Greninja could unlock the same potential.

_"But we're the first,"_ I thought. _"Aren't we. There has been no other Greninjas quite like ours before I'm sure. So then, what exactly allows us to be able to do this?" _

"Now you see," Ash nodded, grinning confidently. "What our full potential truly is! We won't be holding back, so get ready!"

I allowed myself to grin. "Greninja, looks like they truly are the perfect rivals for us. They're willing to show us this power of theirs, so let's do the same."

"Grenin," Greninja agreed, eyes narrowing.

"Cut!" Ash shouted and extra long blades appeared in both hands of his Greninja as he shot towards us.

I felt my pulse race, and alongside it, another pulse. With surging power, we connected.

"Greninja!" I shouted, and a blast of water exploded from him, surrounding him, then forming into his cloak and daggers. He swung both hands forwards, water forming around them then solidifying into blades where he flung off Ash's Greninja's attack. With a loud clang, Ash's Greninja leaped back, eyes wide in surprise, a look mimicked by Ash himself.

"That's-," he shook his head in amazement. "Oh wow. You two can do it as well!?"

"It appears so," I nodded. "Though I thought we were the only ones."

Ash's mouth widened into a grin. "So cool!"

I laughed. "Alright then, enough amazement. Let's see who's bond is strongest!"

"Alright!" Ash shouted, thrusting his arm out. "Aerial Ace!"

"Counter!" I shouted, feeling our connection spike.

Ash-Greninja shot forwards, arms and feet glowing. He lashed out, but Greninja blocked with two blades connected together, heaving Ash-Greninja away. He lunged forwards, multiplying as he went. Ash-Greninja narrowed his eyes, flinging shuriken after shuriken, destroying the copies. Greninja appeared behind his rival, fist glowing as he punched Ash-Greninja in the back.

Ash-Greninja recovered quickly, flipping as he scattered a storm of bubbles that popped with explosive power. Greninja rushed through, ignoring the attack as he sliced through most of the bubbles with Night Slash, clashing again with Ash-Greninja's water blades. Their movements were faster this time, more of a blur as they slashed and parried. Then Greninja swung his left arm up, carrying with it a sphere of water, blasting Ash-Greninja backwards.

I held my sides, feeling the vague sense of sense of being sliced. Ash seemed to be in a similar state, but he held his middle where Ash-Greninja was blasted away. I clenched my teeth, feeling my senses sharpen as I started to see through Greninja's eyes. For whatever reason, this battle, our bond seemed to be easier to access as our thoughts and emotions became one.

**(NOTE: The use of "I" and First-Person terminology from this point onwards to a certain point will refer to Greninja and his actions in battle, as it pertains to him and Zeno becoming of one mind.)**

I leaped back, grabbing the two shurikens on my legs, flinging them at Ash-Greninja. Both found their marks, but he continued on regardless, dealing a blow to my side and head with foot and hand. A croak left my mouth, but I skidded along the ground, planting one webbed-hand on the stone, small fissures spreading towards my rival. Three jets of water burst from the ground, blasting him into the air. Holding my arms on opposite side, two blades formed from water before turning dark. Launching myself into the air, I got in three slashes before having to leap back.

Suddenly I felt something strike against my chest, flinging me back. Another shuriken was incoming and I only managed to turn enough so it grazed my head. Then there were dozens of Ash-Greninja's, all of them scattered along the ground or mid-jump. I held out both hands, dozens of small particles of water forming in the air. I shot them forwards, each one enlarging into water spikes that littered the ground. As many of the copies moved, most were taken out by the trap, but a few slipped past, limbs glowing.

I blocked one with my glowing fist, destroying that copy in the process, and leapt over another. While doing so, I grabbed the blade attached to my hip, striking downwards to block the real Ash-Greninja's attack. A small burst of wind pushed outwards where our blades connected and for a single instant, our gazes met. In them I could see Ash and as a distant reflection, myself.

The moment was gone and Ash-Greninja swung his leg up in an arc, darkness sweeping behind him. I flung my cloak off, protecting me from the blow and the force of the bubbles expanding and exploding forced Ash-Greninja back, but he rushed back in without hesitating, swinging his arm with a wave of darkness. The force of the attack blasted me back, rolling along the ground. I could see him coming back, blade gleaming in the sunlight. I parried the blade and crouched, slashing and rolling to the side, leaping to my feet, flinging several shurikens before an icy fist punched me in the gut.

**(NOTE: End the use of First-Person referring to Greninja)**

I gasped, my gut throbbing where Ash-Greninja had struck my Greninja. I felt him weakening and because of that, our connection seemed to be weaker and I no longer felt entirely a part of the fight. After having flung his cloak off, a large shuriken similar to Ash-Greninja's appeared on Greninja's back as well. Both Greninja's leaped away from one another, Ash's holding his head back, then blasting a beam of ice towards Greninja.

Greninja formed a Water Pulse, the sphere absorbing the ice and freezing solid in the process. He flung it towards Ash-Greninja who shattered it, but it proved a good distraction as Greninja shot into the sky, grabbing one end of the large shuriken on his back. I roared along with him, my pulse increasing, faster and faster. Ash-Greninja crouched, flinging his large shuriken at the same time, both attacks colliding mid-air. As Greninja landed, he made to move, but suddenly I felt a sharp sensation shoot through my chest, making me gasp in pain. I clenched my teeth, dropping to my knees. I managed to look up to see Greninja in a similar state.

"Zeno," I heard Alex yell and I could hear her running. Robert was hurrying over to Greninja, but as they arrived, the worse was already passing.

"I'm," I coughed, breathing heavily, my heart racing as I felt sweat drip down front. I suddenly realized that the battle had exhausted me. "I'm okay. Okay." I stood on shaky feet, my pulse settling and Greninja seemed to be mostly fine as well.

Ash had hurried over as well. "The pain in your chest gone?"

I looked at him and realized that he was the only other person who understood this pain. "Yeah. Yeah, it's gone. I guess our bond doesn't quite match up to yours."

"That's not it," Ash shook his head. "I could still feel that pain, albeit faint. There is a limit to what we can achieve with this battle bond. You both just healed from an injury. I'm amazed you and Greninja could hold that form for that long."

"You think?" I wondered.

"Nope," Ash grinned foolishly. "I can just feel it."

I couldn't help but laugh. Robert was coming over, one of Greninja's arms over his shoulder. I embraced Greninja, patting him on the back. "Good battle. Though perhaps doing this just after getting healed wasn't the best of ideas."

"Gren," he croaked in agreement, stepping back so he could sit.

"You won then," I clasped Ash on the shoulder tiredly.

Ash frowned. "No, we tied. You couldn't fight at your best, that's all. Next time will be for real."

"Sure," I agreed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Alex still looked worried.

"I'm fine, really," I assured her, but I knew it would take more than that to convince her. "How about we spend another day here so Greninja and I can rest from this."

Alex seemed more happy about that idea and nodded. "That will work."

"Just make sure to not miss the league," Ash said, nodding at me. "You just might be my strongest rival and I don't want to miss the chance of beating you."

"Same here," I gripped his hand with a firm shake. "Greninja and I will catch up, and when we do, we'll defeat you for sure!"

...

Alain watched the battle between Ash and Zeno from afar. He had first been curious with Ash and his Greninja's bond form, but now Zeno had one as well. His face became downcast as he remembered Zeno was the one who brought down Team Flare's plan. He was grateful for that, but also deeply ashamed. He needed Chespie to become better so Mairin would become herself again. And for that to happen, he needed to continue to help Lysandre, even if that meant crushing Zeno in the Pokemon League.

**Um... 6000+ words... That's a first. Hope you all like what I did with the battle. Still experimenting with different styles and I think they turned out pretty well. I'll be doing college work come fall, so I better hurry and end this book fast, but I doubt I can do that before summer ends. There's still a whopping 28 chapters left to write, plus an epilogue. But it'll be worth it! OH! One last thing. Next chapter will be a special one which all of you never knew you wanted. Till then! Toodles**


	57. Chapter 55: Unexpected Reunion

_"C'MON!" I shouted, waving my hand to signal my friends. To the side something exploded, but the blast was cut off by a huge figure taking the full force of the blast. I reached out my hand, grasping another and pulling her back towards me._

_"WE'RE OUTMATCHED!" Someone else shouted near me, his Pokemon fending off another attack as he protected a cowering person behind him. "WE HAVE TO RETREAT OR WE'LL DIE!"_

_"NO!" my friend, the one who's hand I had grasped resisted, trying to rush forwards towards the distant light in the void. "WE CAN'T! PLEASE!"_

_I clenched my eyes, then opened them, pulling them back towards me. "I'M SORRY! WE'LL COME BACK! I PROMISE!"_

_Something exploded with light behind us, drawing everything in. The last thought in my head was that even I wasn't strong enough. We needed more. We needed-!_

...

"Okay, I did not expect us to stay for an additional two days," I grumbled.

"Quit your whining," Alex knocked me on the head lightly. "You and Greninja seriously needed to rest. Plus, Corvisquire is almost back at full strength. And the league doesn't start for another 12 days. Plenty of time."

I nodded as Arcanine padded alongside the three of us with Ninetales and Chesnaught out as well. We were in the swampy area known as and further ahead of us was a long wooden bridge that extended over a more swampy area"Yeah yeah, fine. But let's hurry regardless. The sooner I get my eighth gym badge and I'm at the tournament the better."

"We," Alex corrected. "I need that badge too by the way in case you forgot."

"Hey, uh, don't look now," Robert pointed ahead. "But it's another one of your rivals."

Alex and I both turned our heads to see a figure standing on the middle of the bridge, her back to us. I instantly recognized the goth clothing and semi-short black hair.

"Clara," I called out to her, waving.

She turned, blue eyes seeming not as cold as I got used to seeing. A ghost of a smile flickered on her features before being replaced with a more serious expression.

"Just the person I was hoping to see," she said, one hand on her hip. "I challenge you to a battle, Zeno."

I smirked as we stepped onto the bridge as well. "How did I know you were going to say that." I then shook my head. "Sorry, probably best I don't."

She raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"

"Zeno is still recovering," Alex said quickly.

"From what?" Clara furrowed her eyebrows, then her eyes lit up with realization. "Oh, you were involved with what happened in Geosenge, weren't you?"

I shrugged. "Really no point in denying it. Yeah, I got injured in an explosion, and Greninja. One of my Pokemon is still healing from a different attack."

"He was released several days ago," Robert pointed out. "But he decided to battle straight away and pushed himself too far and he's only just rested from that."

"Basically," I nodded. "I'd love to battle you, but I need to save my strength for the last gym."

Clara smirked. "The last gym, eh? So you're behind me then. I guess for now I can bask in the fact that I've surpassed you."

"Sure," I held up both hands. "But only until we both meet at the Lumiose Conference. Then we'll see who's strongest."

"Fine then," Clara shrugged. "But I guess I can accompany you three the rest of the way to Lumiose. If I can't battle you, I at least want to see how you battle now compared to when we last fought."

"Fine with me," I glanced back at my friends. Robert smirked and nodded while Alex rolled her eyes, muttering, "Fine."

"We're all in agreement," I held out my hand. "Travel partners once again?"

Now Clara rolled her eyes. "Sure, travel partners." And she grasped my hand. Suddenly, the bridge shook and rocked, causing all of us to grasp the ropes. Arcanine nearly toppled over, but I managed to return him in time as was done with Ninetales and Chesnaught.

"What is-!?" Alex was in the middle of shouting when something seemed to explode beneath the bridge, making it lift upwards, making me feel weightless before it dropped. The bridge creaked and groaned, the ropes taught.

"Off, now," Robert advised, already half running towards where we came, which was the shortest way back to stable ground. The bridge hadn't stopped moving by the time we stumbled onto the path. I stumbled to the side of the bridge and looked beneath it. There was something roundish and glowing white with something of a web-like structure that seemed to fade the further out it extended. Then it expanded, tossing out a multitude of things out in the swamp. The fall wasn't too high, plus the swamp would act as a cushion.

I blinked, recognizing the mass of "things". "I'm not seeing things, am I?"

Alex and Robert stood on either side of me, both gasping. "It is!"

We ran for the nearest path leading down to the swamp below, Clara following us with a confused expression on her face. My boots splashed in the dirty water as I trudged through the mud towards a groaning tan-skinned boy propping himself up, spitting out water.

"That was rougher than the last dozen times," he coughed, shaking his head.

Feeling the need to be a bit dramatic, I held out my hand. "Need a hand, Hau?"

Hau raised his hand to grasp mine before his eyes cleared, then they widened. "Zeno!?" He stumbled to his feet and grabbed me in a hug. "Oh man am I glad to see you!"

"Did someone say Zeno?" another person groaned, who's blonde hair was back with the emo look.

"And not just him," Alex and Robert stepped forwards. "We're here too."

Hau stumbled back from me and proceeded to hug both of them, breathing heavily as if he'd just ran a marathon. I stepped forwards to steady Gladion, who looked like he might fall over and dirty his already tattered Aether uniform further. "What happened?"

He glanced behind me at everyone else who had appeared out of the Ultra Wormhole. "Some good, mostly bad."

Any Pokemon that might have been in the surrounding area had most definitely fled, especially after seeing the two huge Pokemon standing. Or in one's case, floating. A huge cat-like Pokemon that resembled the sun and a bat-like Legendary that represented the moon. Solgaleo and Lunala, Legendary Pokemon of the Sunne and Moone respectively.

Two figures stood out even amongst this strange crowd. Wearing futuristic white and blue suits, the taller of the two had only a curl of purple hair visible coming out of the front of his helmet and visor while the smaller one had an orange braid coming out of the left side of her helmet. An older gentleman groaned as his back popped, bits of gray in his dirty blonde hair that was kept beneath a straw hat. A red-haired girl maybe a year or two younger than I who wore what appeared to be an Ultra Recon Squad jumpsuit, but without all the gadgets, stumbled to her feet and cast her gaze around frantically. When she spotted Gladion, the frail girl immediately stumbled towards him, hugging him around the middle like he was her only lifeline.

"Um," I blinked, still not sure what to make of all this. "What the actual heck is going on!?"

Gladion opened his mouth, but Hau stepped back into my line of sight. "I'll explain. Find the bag. We might have some rations left."

Gladion nodded and took the redhead by the hand and lead her back to the main group.

"Wicke said you guys entered an Ultra Wormhole a while ago," Alex said. "What happened!?"

Hau grimaced, rubbing the back of his head, and I noted his bright Alolan clothes were faded and ripped in several places. "We were supposed to really just investigate a little, and once we realized hopping between worlds and exploring wasn't that hard, we decided to fully spend our time looking for Lusamine."

He then froze, glancing around. "Wait, where's Lillie!?"

"Here," the man with the straw hat called over to us, helping Lillie to her feet, who was in an Aether uniform similar to Gladion's. She was shivering, eyes wide as she hugged herself. We all trudged over to her and Hau wrapped her in a hug.

"We'll get her back," he breathed, holding her tighter. "I promise. I promise."

Gladion glanced at him, decided Hau was busy, then cleared his throat as the redhead still clung to his middle. "Anyway, in a word, we got cocky. We were close to finding Lusamine when we realized we were deep in Ultra Space. The thing is about Ultra Space, it only gets weirder and more dangerous the further you are. Once we hit that alternate world overrun by UB-05 Glutton, or Guzzlord, we realized just how outmatched we were."

He patted the redhead's hair. "We found Isabelle there, living alone in a bunker designed to keep out radiation. She hardly speaks. I don't even know if she really knows how. Then we found him."

"Mohn," the straw hat guy nodded his head at us, having sat on a stump sticking out of the swampy water. "I'm their father and Lusamine's husband."

"Say that again?" Robert raised an eyebrow.

"He got lost in an Ultra Wormhole," Gladion quickly explained. "We found him in the Void Forest as he called it. But that aside, we did end up finding Lusamine." He struggled to find the words, then settled on, "It's bad, real bad. She's still combined with that UB-01 Symbiont, Nihilego. For as long as it's been, I don't know if we can bring her back at this point."

"We can," Lillie suddenly spoke up, anger creeping into her tone. She stepped away from Hau and towards her brother. "We can saver her still!"

"I'm trying to be reasonable here," Gladion tugged at his hair in frustration. "There's a very, very good chance that even if we do separate them, she'll just end up dying anyway!"

Lillie stamped her foot, spraying herself and Gladion with water, both not having seemed to notice. Isabelle shook her face at getting sprayed by the water, but continued to cling to Gladion.

"You never wanted to save mother!" Lillie screamed at him accusingly, jabbing a finger into his chest. "You believed she was better off left in Ultra Space! You only came along because I begged you! I wish you had stayed lost!"

Gladion's eyes widened as he took a step back, forcing Isabelle to readjust her position. "You-!? Lusamine beat you!" Spittle flew from his mouth, a look of shock and anger all over his red expression. "She abused you physically and mentally! Why would you want to save her!?"

"She is still my-!" Lillie started to yell, when, "ENOUGH!"

Clara's voice was loud enough to drown out Lillie, surprising both her and Gladion. She stepped in-between them, holding out her arms to keep them apart. "I have had it! My patience has worn thin and I've been a good little girl waiting for all you to catch up because apparently these three know you people and Pokemon falling from a hole in the sky! Now quit it with the bickering and shut the hell up!"

Lillie huffed and turned on her feet, facing away from her brother. Gladion scowled and turned his face away, then knelt and practically ripped open a backpack that definitely has seen better days. He got out a bar, ripped it open, and offered it to Isabelle, who cupped it with both hands and nibbled at it.

Hau rubbed the back of his head, awkward in the now tense atmosphere. "Okay, um,"

Mohn stood and placed a hand on Hau's shoulder. "I got this. They're my children and this is a family matter. You'll be involved one day, don't worry."

Hau's face went red and he waved his hand hurriedly. "Sure, handle it. Take all the time you need, sir!"

Mohn chuckled and went over to Lillie, leading her away from the main group. Hau heaved a sigh and sat down on the log Mohn had previously occupied.

"Sorry for all that," he apologized. "It's just been one thing after another lately."

"They going to be okay?" Robert looked between Lillie and Gladion.

Hau nodded. "Yeah, they will. Lillie didn't mean about what she said about wishing Gladion had stayed lost. She was worried sick up until we found the correct world he had fallen into." he looked up and his expression instantly reminded me of the other time I had seen him look like this. Back when we were on that boat heading to save Lillie at Aether Paradise.

Before Hau could say anything, I gave him a stern look. "Hau, you are not weak."

He hung his head, burying his face into his hands. "I am though. I failed miserably. I was barely able to protect Lillie and everyone else and I failed to rescue Lusamine. We only just managed to get through Nebby's wormhole. Hell, I don't even know why we ended here, wherever here is."

"Kalos," Dulse said, stepping forwards with Zossie at his side, examining a pop-up hologram map from his wrist, showing the region of Kalos. "Route 19 as it's called here."

"Hm..." Zossie swayed from side-to-side, hands clasped behind her back. "Generally Solgaleo and Lunala need to know where they're going based on memory and feelings. If not that, they borrow it from whoever they're travelling with so they can go where they wish to go." she looked at Hau. "I believe Nebby sensed in your heart that you needed your friends."

Hau looked up in surprise and I shared a smile with Alex and Robert. We already knew what we had to do.

"Hau," I looked him in the eyes. "We'll help."

"No," he shook his head. "I can't just drag you into this. This isn't your fight. I'll find a way."

"I'll?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "You're forgetting that it's just not you. You have everyone here plus us. Doing this alone isn't what's going to work."

"We're your friends," Robert smiled. "And friends help each other out, no matter what."

"Friends," Dulse gave a small smile. "That's a word I'm beginning to understand more."

"You better be you thick robot," Hau shook his head, slapping his knees before standing, and I could see some of Hala in him now. "Alright! If that's how you want to play this, then fine. I'll warn you though, it's going to be super dangerous. Death is very possible."

"When isn't it?" I smirked.

A melodic cry resounded and Nebby floated closer to me and knelt her head. I chuckled and rubbed her head. "Hey, Nebby. Blowing up bags whenever they try to trap you I hope?" She gave a cry and smiled.

Mohn had finished talking with Lillie a minute ago and was now finishing up with Gladion it seemed. Gladion seemed to sigh and nodded, then headed back over to me, Isabelle close behind. He held out a Master Ball. "Here. She's yours and you'll need her where we're going."

I accepted it and stared at it affectionately. I turned and held it out, opening it. A large bipedal Pokemon appeared in the swamp with mismatched legs and fur that was pure-white like the moon. She gave a beautiful cry upon seeing me, rushing forwards. She nearly barreled me over as I laughed. I hugged her and she licked and chewed on my hair with affection.

"Mahina," I said proudly. "It's good to see you girl."

"That's a Pokemon?" Clara bent to inspect Mahina.

I grinned. "The very best." I glanced back at Gladion. "Thanks for taking care of her."

"It was no problem," Gladion shook his head. "She's better around others now, but still sometimes cautious."

"Really?" I grinned, turning back to Mahina. "Don't be growing up too much without me you hear?" She growled affectionately and licked my hair again.

"Hey," I rubbed the back of her head. "How about when we get all this sorted out and saved Lusamine, want to travel with me again?"

Her fur seemed to brighten and she roared loudly. Laughing, I managed to stand without her jumping on me again. "That's settled then. Welcome back to the team, Mahina." I held out the Master Ball and she nudged it with her head, allowing herself to be sucked back into it. Once clipped to my waist, I looked back at Hau. "How soon do we leave?"

"Um...?" Hau rubbed the back of his head, glancing around at his group.

"The Ultra Recon Squad assigned as Champion Hau's guides are ready to head back into Ultra Space," Dulse said, nodding.

"Solgaleo and Nebby are back to peak condition as well," Zossie spoke up from where she was at tending to the two Legendary Pokemon. "Opening up another couple Ultra Wormholes should be no issue."

Hau nodded and turned to Gladion and Isabelle. "Will she be okay?"

"I have to go," Gladion said, glancing down at the redhead. "And she won't want to leave my side. I'll protect her, don't worry."

"I'm ready," Lillie came up to Hau's side, nodding confidently before turning to Alex, Robert, and I and bowed her head slightly. "Sorry for earlier." When her head came back up, she was smiling brightly. "It's really good to see you three again after so long."

"Aw," Alex stepped forwards, wrapping her in a hug. "You are still precious, Lillie. We'll get her back."

"We'll do our best to save your mother," I put a hand on Lillie's shoulder. "But I can't make any guarantees."

She nodded, eyes downcast. "I know."

Mohn cracked his neck. "Alright then, into the breach once more."

Hau grinned, hands on hips as he gazed at his crew. When he glanced back at us, he wore a broad smile. "We can do it this time, I'm sure of it! Let's do this, Zeno! Like old times!" He held out his fist and I pumped it with my own.

"Just like old times," I agreed, grinning.

"Wait wait," Clara shook her head, staring at Hau. "_You're_ a Champion!?"

"Now you ask that?" Hau raised an eyebrow, still grinning. "Yeah, I'm the Champion of Alola, the person who managed to beat Zeno for the title." Clara blinked as Hau turned to look up at Nebby. "We're ready. Back to Lusamine. This time we save her."

Nebby gave a cry and another Ultra Wormhole blasted into existence in front of us, this time on ground level.

"We'll be back," I told Clara, patting her on the shoulder. "Wait for us will you?"

"Like hell," she rolled her eyes. "I'm coming with you all."

"You sure?" I was slightly surprised. "It'll be dangerous and I don't even know if we'll make it back."

Clara shook her head. "I'm not sure. That's why I'm going."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Robert chortled, walking past her.

I stared at her. "You don't have to do this to prove yourself."

"Maybe you don't think I need to," Clara's eyes looked distant for a moment. "But I need to."

I nodded slowly. "Alright then. Just make sure not to die."

She nodded as Hau called out, "Come on if you're coming. The sooner we do this the better." He stood in front of the wormhole, the energy from it blowing his hair slightly. No longer was the boy who had been unsure of himself back in Alola. Now he was the Champion of Alola and crosser of worlds. Here was a man who had surpassed me long ago.

**Man, even after writing a 6000+ chapter a day ago, I was so hyped for this two parter I couldn't just hold back. I hope you enjoyed this reunion and can't wait to see the second part! I might even get that one out later depending on what I'll be doing the rest of the day. So until then. Oh, and Dark likely won't be updated again for a while due to me trying to finish this book as fast as possible. We'll see though. We'll see. So, for now, Toodles!**


	58. Chapter 56: Assault on the Beasts

Travelling through Ultra Space was weird to say the least. We were only in there for a brief moment, but I saw warped violet shapes, a multitude of Ultra Wormholes varying in color, and crystalline structures. Then my feet hit solid ground and I experienced vertigo.

"You get used to it after a couple times," Hau said, steadying me. "You're lucky you don't have to wear one of their suits." He pointed at Dulse and Zossie. "Quick travels like that don't require them."

Once my senses had fully returned, the first thing I became aware of was the smell. It wasn't bad, but neither was it pleasant. It was stale in a way, sharp as well. We appeared to be in some sort of dark cave with faintly glowing rocks shaped weirdly. They provided the only light, highlighting a path leading through the cave.

"Where are we?" Robert asked, feeling the wall and touching a glowing rock.

"Ultra Deep Sea," Zossie announced. "This is a good place to come up with a plan don't you agree?"

Hau nodded and turned to face the whole group. He was the leader here, the one who obviously fit the role. A Champion and someone who already knew what lay beyond. "Alright, we've done this once already and that ended in disaster. But," he held up a finger, expression grim. "We didn't have a solid plan and rushed in without really thinking." Lillie looked slightly guilty as she fidgeted with her ponytail. "But in the end we all escaped alive. That's what counts. Plus, we know what we're up against."

He glanced behind him down the path. "For those who are new here, Zeno, Alex, Robert, Goth Girl I haven't gotten the name of yet," Clara scoffed at that. "Down the path you'll see why this place has been named Ultra Deep Sea. The terrain is rocky and broken. One false step and you'll go plummeting into the sea. We don't really know what happens if that occurs."

"Encouraging," Alex muttered beside me, but I hushed her.

"Lusamine is still currently in control of the Nihilegos," Hau continued. "If we try to engage her, the Ultra Beasts will try to surround us. So we'll need a couple teams," he gazed at us, frowning slightly. "Dulse, I need you to be with Team B. Have Mohn, Solgaleo, and Robert back you up. Zossie, you're leader of Team C. It'll include Lillie, Alex, and Nebby. I'll lead Team A, naturally." He grinned slightly. "Gladion, Zeno, Goth Girl, you three are with me. Gladion, I know you'll be protecting Isabelle, so make sure to hang back behind us more. Everything clear?"

Alex raised her hand. "Why not have the legendaries help battle Lusamine. She was super powerful last time in Ultra Megalopolis, remember?"

Hau nodded. "Fair point. However, we have two Beast Killers here, Silvally and Mahina. Plus I remember Zeno's Arcanine being able to finish things off. But it won't just be them, so I'm confident we can take her down. Also, Solgaleo and Nebby need to be with you all to help hold back the Nihilegos. They're probably best suited to that job."

Nebby cried in agreement while Solgaleo just nodded his head.

Hau clapped his hands together once. "Alright folks. Let's go save Lusamine." He turned and lead the way down the path, our footsteps echoing.

Clara caught up to him, hand gripping his shoulder. "It's Clara by the way. Remember that."

Hau grinned cheekily. "Goth Girl it is then." His face turned serious. "I'm putting my trust in you despite not knowing you very well. But if you're one of Zeno's rivals, that must mean you're strong. And strong trainers and Pokemon is what we need."

Clara blinked at that and let go of him. When I came to walk beside her, I said, "A gracious Champion. Alola's lucky to have him."

"You really lost to him?" Clara raised an eyebrow. "That cheerful kid?"

"Yep," I grinned. "My best friend. Who's stronger now, I wouldn't know unless we battled. But I'm confident he could still pull a win."

Clara was about to say something else, but the words seem to disappear from her mouth as the area around us became less dark and opened more. Hau stopped ahead of us at the edge of the path which ended in a sheer fall into dark blue and purple clouds of sorts that swirled around like a sea in all directions. Shards of rocks and crystals floated in the air and there appeared to be islands floating around as well. One appeared to be drifting closer to us, the pieces of floating rocks coming together as well to form a bridge-like structure.

"That's highly convenient," Robert mused, staring over the side.

"The exact science I'm told isn't known yet," Hau rubbed the back of his head. "But that large island up ahead is where we need to go. Lusamine should be over there. You may not see any Nihilegos around at the moment, but they're there, swimming about in whatever all this is."

He went first, stepping with confidence that I'm sure he didn't fully feel. But the bridge of stones held and soon we were across. This new island was large and more open, with a large cave near the back.

"Is she in there? Lusamine?" Alex asked, coming to stand next to me.

"If not she's around here," Gladion spoke. "We haven't been gone that long. You can see blast marks from our battle earlier."

He was right. Scorch marks, small craters, jagged rocks that must have been blown apart, and spots that had oozing purple liquid.

"Uh, guys?" Robert pointed above us at the "sky" where moving shapes were becoming clearer.

"Detecting multiple signatures of UB-01 Symbionts entering from the Ultra Deep Sea," Dulse warned us and the forms of the Ultra Beasts suddenly became all too familiar. White jellyfish-like parasitic Pokemon descended from the void around us, converging on the large island.

"Team B! Take the left!" Hau said, pointing his arm in that general direction. "Team C, the right! Team A, advance!"

Solgaleo and Nebby both roared, their cries seeming to be sucked away once having started to fade. I ran after Hau, who alongside his Raichu, headed for the cave. I heard twin blasts of energy being shot behind us and assumed the Legendaries had started the fight. Gladion and Isabelle with Silvally followed us several meters behind while Clara and her Scizor ran alongside my right side. The cave wasn't that far ahead now, but several Nihilegos converged on the entrance, denying us entry.

"Thunderbolt!" Hau shouted, skidding to halt.

"Arcanine," I slid to a halt next to him, tossing out the Fire type. "Flamethrower!"

Both attacks blasted two of the Nihilegos away, creating an explosion. Arcanine shook himself and looked around, then cocked his head at me.

"Yeah, I know," I nodded. "Weird place. But this is going to be tough, trust me. We'll have to give it everything we got!"

He woofed and squared his shoulders, hot breath escaping his maw. Hau didn't move, so neither did we. Then, something appeared within the dark confinements of the cave. A large moving shape, twisting and bobbing. I remembered the last time I had seen this particular fusion of human and Pokemon back during my journey in Alola, in Ultra Megalopolis. Dark purple and black tentacle creature with a bulbous head, with someone's upper body suspended within, her legs hanging out. Her skin had turned violet and black, her flowing hair black as well. Yellow eyes reflecting madness stared down at us as she emerged from the cave, two tentacle hands smashing into the sides of the rock with heavy force.

"Well well well," Lusamine's voice sounded different, slightly deeper and more sinister, as the words spread across the Ultra Deep Sea. "Back so soon little Hau? And you brought help this time." She rose to her full height, the Nihilego trapping her body more than double the size of a regular Nihilego. "Zeno. Alex. Robert. My awful children. My missing husband. Hau. Join me." Her tentacles spread wide, more Nihilegos appearing from the void. "Join me and become part of the family."

"Sorry Lusamine," Hau shook his head, staring up at her defiantly. "We're going to bring you home. We're going to cure you. We may have failed last time, but we won't this time!"

Her eyes widened in disgust. "How ugly! All of you deny my love!? Nothing as terrible as creatures like yourselves must be allowed to live."

"Lusamine," I stepped forwards. "This isn't you. You yourself recognized this back in Alola. You saved ALL of us back then! Don't you remember?"

Lusamine closed her eyes, her facial features tightening, before suddenly relaxing. "I have come to truly see what is beauty, Hero Born of Darkness. And I will do what I must to ensure that this beautiful world never dies."

"Well screw you then," Clara looked irritated. "Because whether you like it or not we're going to beat you into submission."

Lusamine's eyes swiveled to face the goth. "YOU IMPERTINENT CHILD! DIE!" One of her tentacles descended quickly towards Clara, who's Scizor brought up both hands and barely managed to block the attack. His feet were driven into the rock as he struggled to hold up the heavy tentacle.

"Crunch!" I threw out my hand and Arcanine latched his maw onto the tentacle, biting down with extreme force. Lusamine whipped back the appendage, an energy beam blasting towards us, ripping up the ground, sending shards of rock flying all around us.

"GARCHOMP!"

Hau's Garchomp appeared, taking the full force of the attack. He roared as the energy faded and he blasted Lusamine with draconic energy. The Nihilegos around us made to attack as well, but Silvally held them off with an arrange of long-rang attacks, but made sure to stay close to Gladion to protect him and Isabelle.

"Mahina, we need you!" I yelled, releasing her. She locked her eyes on Lusamine, rushing forwards.

"Zeno!" Gladion shouted, flinging something towards me. I deftly caught the object, recognizing it as a disc. I nodded in his direction before launching it towards Mahina. It caught up to her and was immediately sucked into the disc drive on the side of her head, turning her horns a beige color. Her claws began glowing as she leaped, striking Lusamine in the head. She screeched in pain, blasting Mahina away, who landed on all fours.

Multiple attacks hit Lusamine all at once, all originating from Hau and Clara's Pokemon. She roared in fury, multiple beams of energy forcing all of us to separate. I came face-to-face with a Nihilego, who's tentacles began glowing and shot towards me.

"Arcanine!" I shouted, pushing myself backwards. He was there in an instant, smashing his body into the Ultra Beast before engulfing it in flames. It gave a cry and floated away. I turned to see chaos. Teams B and C were being heavily assaulted by Nihilegos, and even with the support of Solgaleo and Nebby, it looked as if they were barely holding their own.

A scream came from behind me and I swiftly turned to see a wounded Gladion covering a fallen, shaking Isabelle, with several Nihilegos descending upon them. I knew Arcanine was busy behind me with several new arrivals and Silvally and Mahina were tied up somewhere either with Lusamine or other Nihilegos.

As fast as I could, I swung a pokeball in their direction. Greninja appeared and he barely had time to assess his surroundings before I shouted, "SAVE THEM!"

In an instant, I felt our minds connect. He blasted forwards, a cyclone of water forming around him. It condensed around him in a spherical shape as he crouched, springing towards Gladion and Isabelle. Slamming into one of the Ultra Beasts, he rebounded off of it and blasted another away. He leaped upwards, the water disappearing, forming into his cloak and revealing his Bond Form.

"We are," I breathed, adrenaline coursing through my body as our senses were enhanced. "The Kage-Shinobi!"

Shurikens formed in his hands as he smashed both together to form one larger one and slamming it into the third Nihilego. The resulting blast sent the Ultra Beast tumbling back into the void. As I trusted Arcanine to watch my back, I closed my eyes, commanding Greninja not through words, but thoughts and emotions. I crouched, slamming my palm against the rock. Greninja mimicked my movement, cracks spreading from his webbed fingers. Geysers shot from them, blasting several Nihilegos trying to swarm him.

He ran, forming two blades. He leaped, blocking rocks sent flying towards him and slashed through another Nihilego. Jumping back, a blast of energy ripped apart the ground. By now Silvally had returned to Gladion's side, so I had Greninja focus his attention on Lusamine, who was battling with Clara's Pokemon, Hau and his Pokemon furiously trying to fight his way towards them, but there were just too many Nihilegos.

"LUSAMINE!" I shouted, getting her attention, allowing Clara's Scizor and Barbaracle to land their attacks. Greninja shot towards her, throwing several Water Shurikens. Each one found their mark, angering Lusamine further.

"ARGH!" she roared. "DON'T SCREW WITH ME, HERO BORN OF DARKNESS!"

"C'mon," I gritted my teeth, my heart pumping faster in my chest. "We have to stop her! To save her!" Images of Lillie and Gladion surfaced, making my emotions surge. "FOR THEM!"

Greninja roared alongside me and our thoughts converged once more. I saw through his eyes and we were no longer two individuals. We were one.

I rocketed forwards, slicing apart projectiles as they were fired at me. Leaping over a Nihilego, Lusamine was close now. Ignoring Clara entirely, she threw her tentacles up, five beams of psychic energy blasting towards me. Smirking on the inside, the beams passed straight through me, and I twirled my body, slashing past her with Cut. She turned quickly, firing wave after wave of poisonous liquid. I threw my webbed hand into the air, a wave of water surging behind me. I leaped into the air, directing the flow to collide with the poison, then cascade into Lusamine.

Her body began to glow brightly as energy radiated from her. I swung my cloak off, protecting myself against the attack. It exploded, leaving me without the cloak, but a large shuriken formed on my back. I slid one foot back, dashing forwards. High speed rocks shot towards me, faster than the ones before. My eyes sharpened and I flung two shurikens, taking out two of the four rocks. One smashed into my thigh and another grazed my cheek. It crashed into the ground behind me with insane force while I tried not to give in to the pain.

I ran on, more Nihilegos flying towards me. With a yell, I shot past them, swinging my arms together, a dark wind blasting outwards. I landed running, forming a sphere of water that I sent flying towards Lusamine. She knocked it aside and blasted several beams of energy at me. They were blasted away by another beam originating from Mahina, joining in on the assault. She headbutted Lusamine, sending her crashing to the ground.

I felt my senses sharpen and the blade on my back enlarge. Both our bodies made the same fluid movements at the same time. I reached back, grasping one end the large shuriken, and pulled it off, holding it behind me in preparation to throw it. Our mind roared and we flung it and it shot towards Lusamine's fallen form like a missile. Her eyes widened and it slammed into her, a blast of water shot back up near me at an angle. I landed, rolling to my feet past her. I turned to feel a mist drifting over me, the cool water refreshing.

Suddenly, Lusamine rose from the ground, roaring in anger. I flinched and our minds were separated.

"Gah!" I gasped, falling to one knee. I glanced up to see Greninja in the same position, but he was still in his Bond Form. I slowly felt my strength return, not as strong as before, but I found I was able to stand firmly. Arcanine was at my side now, no Nihilegos near us thanks to him.

"We can still fight," I said, Greninja adopting my same stance of defiance.

"Why do you defy my love!?" Lusamine wailed. "Why do you insist on hurting my children!?"

"Mother."

Lillie was there now, stepping closer to Lusamine. "We're your children. Me and Gladion." She clasped her hands together, trying not to cry. "Please, Mother! Come back to us!"

Something flickered in Lusamine's eyes, an emotion that contrasted her actions. Then it was gone and back was her rage. "YOU STUPID, UGLY CHILD! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF MY LOVE!"

Lillie's eyes widened as a massive tentacle came bearing down towards her. Then Hau was there, shielding her as Raichu held off the tentacle. Blasting electricity outwards, he managed to blast the tentacle away.

"Greninja, Arcanine," I crouched. "One last assault. We can't afford to lose here." I slid the Z-ring onto my wrist, inserting the Z-crystal into its slot. "Greninja, distract her!"

He nodded, and alongside Scizor, Mahina, and Silvally, they attacked Lusamine, leading her away from Hau and Lillie. I saw Hau stand, eyes burning.

"Raichu!" he yelled, thrusting out his hand. "Thunder!"

An even stronger bolt of electricity fired from Raichu, blasting into Lusamine.

"Hau!" I shouted, running towards him, holding up my wrist. He blinked, then nodded, holding up his own wrist. Once we were side-by-side, we began our dances. His flowing with electricity and mine with flames.

I drew back my arrow, and let it fly. "INCINERAZING ARROW!"

"STOKED SPARKSURFER!" Hau roared beside me.

Fire swirled around Arcanine, sharping into an arrow. Raichu sparked with electricity and basked in its glow, he shot towards Lusamine right alongside Arcanine.

"GOOOOOO!" Hau and I roared, pumping out our fists in unison. Both Pokemon collided with Lusamine, resulting in a large explosion. When the dust settled, Lusamine lay beside a fainted Nihilego, bruised, burned, but back to normal and most importantly, alive.

"Mother!" Lillie cried, rushing past Hau and I and towards Lusamine.

I fell to both knees, exhausted as Greninja reverted back to normal. Hau staggered for a second, then recomposed himself, hurrying after Lillie. I smiled, grateful that I was able to help my friends in their time of need.

...

"You sure you'll be okay?" Alex asked again as we stood back in the swamp.

Hau nodded and looked at his group, almost all of them through the portal, Mohn having taken in Lusamine first. "We'll be fine." He looked back at us as Gladion and Lillie joined him. "It was really great to see you three again. Being Champion has its perks, sure, but I do miss our times together, journeying through Alola."

"Yeah, I guess I do too," Gladion rubbed the back of his head.

"I'll miss you all," Lillie smiled sadly. "I just wish we all could have spent more time together."

"One day," I promised. "A day where nothing terrible is happening."

"I look forward to it," Hau stepped forwards, fist bumping me. "And when that day comes, let us have a battle to commemorate it. And then we'll see who's truly stronger."

I smirked. "Of course. Wish Alex and I luck in the Kalos League will you."

"Here," Robert passed three devices to them. "These are communicators I modeled off of the Holo Casters. Usable for Holographic calls and such."

"Sounds more useful than the phone booths," Gladion nodded appreciatively.

"Till the day we meet again," Alex said, waving goodbye after giving Lillie a hug.

"Till the day we meet again," they echoed and disappeared into the Ultra Wormhole, Nebby flying into it and closing it. Silence followed aside from the movement of the swamp water.

"That was something else," Clara commented.

"Yes," I nodded. "But nostalgic all the same."

"Anyone else notice how late it is?" Robert asked. "It's nearly night and I don't want to be stuck out in a swamp at night. Bad things tend to happen then."

I chuckled. "Alright, fine. Snowbelle City isn't far off, right? Just beyond the bridge?"

"Yes," Clara nodded.

"Good," Alex stretched. "I'm ready to sleep and add this to another page of our Misadventures in Alola's company."

As we began walking, I glanced back one more time at where our friends disappeared and whispered, "Till we meet again."

**And thus this two parter special has come to an end. Till they meet again. Which can happen whenever. Or never. It'll likely be another couple of days until I can get the next chapter out, but I'll aim for soon. Oh, and this is kind of a day late, but HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! Exactly one year and one day ago this book was only at Chapter 6. I've managed to write 50 chapters in one year! And one day, but that was because I was being extra lazy. But man, that's a lot, but I can't help but feel I could've written more. Oh well, no time to dwell on the past. Time to look forward to the future! Toodles!**


	59. Chapter 57: Unhealed Burns

"Sorry trainers," the Ace Trainer shook her head. "Gym Leader isn't here at the moment. She headed down into Route 20 just an hour ago. You'll have to either come back later or look for her yourselves. She tends to do what she wants most of the time."

"Alright, thanks," I nodded, sighing as we left. "Well, luckily we still have a week until the League. I guess we can do a bit of forest searching."

"Yeah," Alex sighed as well. "Though I was hoping to battle today. Oh well, can't be helped."

"You might still be able to," Robert pointed out. "If we find the Gym Leader quick and get back here soon enough."

Clara snorted. "You'll have to be lucky to find her that soon. As that trainer said, this Gym Leader does what she wants. Finding her is one thing. Getting her back here before she wants to is another thing entirely."

"Oh shaddup," Alex moaned. "You're such a downer all the time."

Clara rolled her eyes. "I still don't see how the three of you can be so positive all the freakin' time."

"Now now ladies," Robert grinned, holding up both hands. "Let's save the cat fight for later shall we? We're on a mission right now."

Alex and Clara exchanged looks and both acted in unison.

"Seriously," I said a minute later, walking in the back with Robert, who rubbed his arms gingerly as both the girls lead the way into the forest known as Route 20. "You think you would learn by now."

"Well, I just can't help myself," he chuckled as we entered the slightly warmer embrace of the forest compared to Snowbelle City. His eyes lit up suddenly. "Hey, I have an idea!"

"Yeah?" I glanced at him.

"Why don't you try having Lucario sense for the Gym Leader?" He said, grinning from ear-to-ear. "I heard they can use their aura like that. Makes rescue operations during natural disasters much easier when someone has a Lucario on hand."

"Huh," I enlarged his pokeball. "Could always give it a try."

"Girls!" Robert called ahead to them and flinched when both shot him a warning glare. "Hey, don't give me that look. We're stopping for a minute."

"What is it?" Alex asked as I tossed out Lucario.

"Hey, Lucario," I knelt. "I have a job for you."

Lucario nodded absentmindedly, looking at the forest around us. His eyes widened slightly and he growled.

"What?" I scanned the area. "What is it?"

Lucario shook his head quickly, kicking the dirt. I raised an eyebrow. This was unusual behavior for him. "You okay, Lucario?"

He hrred softly, nodding.

"Okay," I said, still concerned. I would have to ask him later. "Okay, we need to find the Gym Leader somewhere in this forest. Are you able to use your aura for that?"

Lucario nodded, kneeling on the ground, placing his paw flat on the earth. The pebbles around him shook slightly and he stayed like that for a solid minute before opening his eyes. He glanced to his left, nodding.

"Good boy," I said, standing. "Lead the way."

We followed a different path than the one we were on originally and set off further into the woods. Lucario ran ahead of us, but made sure to glance behind him to check to see if we were keeping up. The forest soon got thicker and the path narrower. Then we entered a small clearing, stone steps cut out of a rock wall leading up to an elevated part of the forest.

Lucario began walking up the stairs, so we followed suit. Once at the top we spotted a woman who was likely in her mid-twenties running her hand through her long brunette hair as she gazed around her surroundings worriedly. Despite the rather cold temperature, she only wore black shorts and a white t-shirt with a blue jacket tied around her waist.

"Uh, hi," I said, holding my hand up in greeting.

She swiveled to face our group, surprise etched across her features. "Eh? Where'd you all come from?"

"The trainer in front of your gym said you were in this forest," Alex explained. "You are the Gym Leader, right?"

"Uh, yeah," she nodded, then she saw Clara. "Oh, hey! I remember you!" Grinning, she walked over and sized Clara up. "Our battle the other day sure was a cold defeat for me."

"Hold on," Robert rubbed his chin. "I've seen you somewhere before, haven't I?"

"Now that you mention it," I cocked my head, trying to remember.

"Tch," the lady wagged a finger. "Lucky for you I tend to remember faces quite well, but not so much names." She grinned. "My name is Caren, daughter of the previous Gym Leader of Snowbelle City. I was knocked out of the Alolan League only in the second round by your friend Hau. I think that's his name. It was nearly a year ago."

Robert snapped his fingers. "That's it! Yeah, I remember you now. That one chic with the Mega Abomasnow."

"That's me," Caren said proudly, fingering the icicle earring in her left ear, a small orb nestled in it. "You three made it pretty far in the tournament. I guess I have some amazing battles to look forwards to."

Suddenly her eyes widened. "Oh shoot! I nearly forgot!" She whirled around, eyes searching. "I came out here because I needed to check up on the village!"

"Village?" Alex asked. "What village?"

Robert scratched his head. "I don't remember there being a village around here. I've looked at several maps and haven't seen a mention of one at all."

"Of course not," Caren said, sighing. "It's a secret village that few know about. With my dad retired, it's up to me to check up on the Pokemon Village and make sure everything is alright. Thing is, I felt that something was off this morning, so I came looking." She looked sheepish. "I tend to be bad with directions sometimes though. I've been lost for a while now."

"Hm," I tapped my chin, looking at Lucario. "Couldn't you use your aura to sense it? Something of that size ought to be easy to find."

Lucario's gaze seemed troubled as he looked away from me. Then his shoulders sagged and he nodded, but he didn't bother trying to spread his aura as he began running down the stairs.

"Follow him!" I shouted behind me and heard everyone else start to follow. The trees flew by and we entered a clearing and left it just as quick, dodging around a tree in the middle. The further we went, the more that I could notice Lucario look agitated. Then he slowed to a stop, the forest thinning ahead.

"Aha," Caren pushed her hair out of her face. "Yep, this is the place. Just ahead is the Pokemon Village." She frowned, tensing slightly. "This feeling... I don't like it."

Lucario went ahead a little and knelt behind a bush, peering over. I carefully made my way over to him, my senses on high alert. Whatever was beyond this stretch had spooked both Lucario and the Gym Leader. And what I saw made me sharply suck in a breath. "Cultists."

There were dozens of them, moving about through a field of tall yellow flowers. They were stabbing long poles into the ground and had Lampents strike the top with purple flames, the fire licking the air ominously. Just beyond the immediate group of the Chaos Cultists were a gathering of more of them. Part of the flowers had been burned away to make a circle where I could see a bunch of Pokemon within, surrounded by Chandelures and Lampents who kept them within. Many were small Pokemon that didn't look like they could do much, but there was a Snorlax, Zoroark, and Blaziken already looking fatigued, shielding the weaker Pokemon.

Caren was beside me, eyes narrowed. "What are bloody cultists doing here!? What have they done!?"

"After evading International Police for so long, we just have to be the ones to stumble across them," Alex muttered. "Just our typical luck."

Robert asked the one question none of us really wanted to ask. "What are they planning doing to the Pokemon."

Suddenly, the Blaziken lunged forwards, grappling a Chandelure before kicking it away. Snorlax barreled towards a cluster of them, aiming to bulldoze them. Then something rose from the grass, sending three blasts of energy that slammed into Snorlax, making him fall on his back. The newly arrived Hydreigon then grabbed Blaziken by the shoulders and slammed her to the dirt.

Something flew past me, crashing through the bushes and into the field. It was Lucario.

"Dang't!" I leaped over the bush, rushing after him.

Lucario held back both paws while running, sending an Aura Sphere shooting towards the Dark and Dragon type. It smashed into him, making Hydreigon turn towards us. Along the way, I slammed two cultists to the ground by the heads, catching them by surprise.

Lucario threw himself forwards, fist glowing brightly. He swung it, only to be met by a beam of draconic energy. He hung there for several seconds, his momentum trying to overcome the energy, but with the addition of two new beams, he was blasted backwards, creating a groove in the flowers.

"Greninja!" I shouted, throwing him out. He appeared and narrowed his eyes, throwing two shurikens that brought down a Lampent. My friends, Caren, and their Pokemon had caught up to me, but we were all to quickly surrounded.

"I hate this Cult," Clara muttered, her Scizor by her side.

Someone stepped forwards, pushing the hood off his head. It was that old man from the attack on the Tower of Majesty. Sebastian.

"It's you again," he said calmly, as if he might have been expecting us. "This is perfect. While we do have a different sacrifice planned for bringing back Chaos, you are still a prime candidate." He grinned widely. "If we can bring about Chaos now, then there is no need to wait! We will bring her rise here and now!"

A figure leaped above him, fist raised. The Hydreigon shot forwards, grappling Lucario with two of his heads. The Fighting type roared in pain and as I stepped forwards, flames erupted around my feet and Greninja pulled me back while also leaping forwards. Two giant columns of fire erupted from the ground in front of him and he was barely able to leap back, but not before being scorched by the heat.

Lucario struggled, punching Hydreigon's middle head, but the Dragon type ignored him, blasting him into the air. I heard an explosion to my right and I saw the Blaziken vault over the Chandelures, foot ablaze. With a yell, the Fire type brought her foot down on Hydreigon's back, releasing Lucario.

"Greninja," I crouched. "Wa-hrk!"

An invisible force slammed into me, sending me crashing back into Alex and Robert. Greninja made to help, but fell to the ground as an ominous aura surrounded him and what looked like a dozen nails jam into his body. He croaked in pain and fell to his knees, a Dusknoir looming over him. I heard the sound of battle off to my right and saw an Avalugg get blow back alongside a Scizor.

I heard Sebastian laugh as I made to stand, feeling as if my body was much more heavy. "After all this time, don't you think we wouldn't have come prepared for a surprise attack!?"

The force of gravity seemed to intensify, pushing me down to my knees, the same thing happening to my friends. The Cultists moved around us freely and unhindered by the sudden gravitational effects, robbing us of our possessions, including my knife which had the Keystone attached to it.

Another explosion and I saw Blaziken being blasted back and crashing to the ground. Lucario howled with fury and leaped into the air, but Hydreigon blasted him with so much energy, he flew back into the forest and out of sight.

Sebastian was standing over me now. "Oh, how easy this was. To think you've managed to stop our plans before. But not this time." He knelt and wrapped his hand around my arm, tugging me along with surprising strength. "Now come along. We have a ritual to attend. One where you'll help us give rise to Chaos herself!"

"No!" I heard someone behind me yell, struggling to stand, but yelped and I had no other choice but to allow myself to get dragged, still unable to stand.

_"No,"_ I thought, trying to feel Greninja's presence. _"We can still-!"_

Something slammed into the back of my head and instantly I was thrust into a world of darkness.

...

_I was standing in a field of flowers, the scenery around me hazy and warm. I watched as Lombres and Poliwhirls played along the riverbank, water being splashed into the air. A huge Snorlax rested beneath a small hut constructed of sticks, leaves, and ferns as the sun beat down overhead. A shout came came to my attention and I turned to see a Zoroark swiping at a couple of small Pokemon, who were running away from the annoyed Pokemon's den, appearing to be enjoying themselves. A Banette, Gothorita, and Riolu. _

_I watched them frolic around in the flowers, annoying nearby Pokemon. I smiled, then suddenly I was standing beside a cave entrance. Looking inside, I saw a Blaziken sitting in front of another slightly taller Pokemon. I couldn't make out this new Pokemon's features out, as if some sort of force was trying to obscure it. _

_I came to realize that the Riolu from before was by my feet, peering into the cave curiously. Blaziken nodded her head and stood alongside the unidentifiable Pokemon, leaving the cave. Purple eyes seemed to regard me for just a second as the Pokemon passed by me, before blasting off into the sky._

_Blaziken clucked and picked up the Riolu in her arms, carrying the small Fighting type back down to the flowers. The scene shifted once more and now I was in the forest. Riolu was running, crashing through bushes and leaping over logs. A Hoothoot flew down from above, beak glowing. Riolu skidded to the side and jumped, blasting the Flying type furiously with a flurry of fists._

_Once he landed, Riolu kept running and I could feel his rush. The end was close, so close. He burst through the bushes and back into the Pokemon Village. Blaziken was waiting for him, alongside the Zoroark and Snorlax. Blaziken smiled and kneeled, rubbing Riolu's head. A trial completed efficiently and swiftly. _

_Now it was night. Torches flickered with small flames as they encircled a small area where Riolu stood. He hopped from foot to foot, pumping his fists. Zoroark stepped into the area to face him, a sneer curling on her face. A final trial to prove himself. _

_The fight started off well, with Riolu dodging Zoroark's attacks and landing a few good hits. He leaped back to avoid her claws, right foot pushed back further than the left. He crouched, growling. Something flickered around his foot, then it burst into flames. He ran, leaping and swinging his foot around, kicking Zoroark in the face. The Dark type took a couple steps back, still able to fight. Riolu was prepared to strike again when the flames rose around his foot. He tried to quickly stamp them out, but they only grew bigger and hotter until they obscured my vision._

_Riolu sat alone now at the river's edge, kicking his feet in the water, staring sadly at his injured foot. Blaziken came over, offering a comforting hand, but Riolu jerked away, heading off towards the forest. I felt a pang of sympathy for him, already realizing what I was seeing._

_He practiced alone, night after night, each time having to quickly stamp out his fire before it got too bad or dip it into the nearby stream in the forest. He challenged Zoroark over and over, each time ending in defeat, with him being left burned. Riolu cried out, punching a tree over and over in anger. He then swung his foot in a fit of rage, flames sparking to life. They skidded across dead leaves, a fire instantly starting. Panicked eyes widened, Riolu tried to put them out, but the fire only grew more intense. By the time he tried putting it out with water from the stream nearby, it had grown out of his control._

_As he ran for the Pokemon Village, the flames spread faster and faster. Smoke clouded his vision and filled his lungs. Coughing, he emerged back in the village to see the Water types trying to put out the flames. He saw Zoroark there, sneering at him with disdain and Snorlax shaking his head, lumbering off back to sleep. Worst of all, Blaziken's expression of sadness and grief. _

_Riolu took a step back, passing through my faded body. His eyes were wide, feeling frightened and rejected. With a cry, he ran and ran and ran. Back into the flames, ignoring Blaziken's calls. He coughed, tears running down his face as he left behind the only home he ever knew._

...

_He staggered down the snowy road, shivering and feeling dull pain from the burns. He struggled to continue, collapsing outside of a building. In his weakened state, he barely saw the pink-haired woman stumbled across him and hurry him into the building. His eyes fluttered close and let himself drift off._

_When he awoke, he was in a medical room. He sat up, examining the bandages on his arms. He stretched, surprised at how good he felt. He looked around, seeing that he was trapped in this room. Then he saw the window behind him, near the ceiling. Crouching, he leapt and crashed through the window and into daylight. His landing was softened by the snow and he shivered. He heard frantic footsteps near him, so he ran. He had no idea what he was running from or where he was running to, but he didn't care. _

_Life from there on consisted of sleeping in dark corners and living off of scraps. He found a particular interest in stealing stuff whenever it caught his eye. He had the bad habit of trying to challenge strong Pokemon he came across, whether it be a trainer's or just a wild Pokemon. He won some, but most of the time he ran, on the verge of being beaten. He continued to practice Blaze Kick, determined to master it. He took extra precaution this time, always making sure he had a surefire way to prevent a wildfire like last time. He had been burned so many times, he had gotten mostly used to the pain, but many times he found himself back in that strange red building, miraculously healed. But over time, he had begun to notice slight marks, signs that he wasn't fully getting healed. So he stopped, realizing he could no longer use flames._

_An unknown amount of time passed and he ended up in a large city. Smiling, he found that he enjoyed the thrill of snatching things out of people's pockets at high speed and rushing off to disappear into the back alleys. He had stored up quite the collection that he was proud of. Then one day, he stole something that changed his life. The thing itself wasn't something that did it, but the people he stole it from. They gave chase, forcing him to flee the city and try to hide out in the wilderness. To his amazement, they kept up with him and even trapped him. But, instead of dishing out a punishment that he had been expecting, he had been asked to a battle. _

_Winning had been easy, defeating that Froakie in no time at all. Satisfied, he was going to leave without the thing he had stolen, but then that boy asked him something. Something that made him stop. He knew full well a trainer like him could just quickly capture him in one of those capturing devices and force him to be a part of his team. But no, not this trainer. He offered Riolu the chance of joining him and experiencing even more thrilling battles. _

_Having always seen the pleasure in battling, having one's heart race in the heat of battle, Riolu knew he couldn't pass this chance up. On a whim, he decided to join the boy and became his Pokemon. His name was Zeno. And he had delivered exactly what he had promised. Battle after battle, seeing many new sights he had never experienced before. He made new friends in the Pokemon in his company and soon the thought of the joy of stealing was behind him, forgotten._

_He became stronger, faster. So with one reckless thought, he believed he could do it. So he used Blaze Kick and was reminded of the fact that he was just simply too weak. But Zeno didn't seem to see that in him. He helped him grow and over time, slowly come to an understanding with his fire. Yet he remained unable to use it to his full potential. Then came the thrilling power of Mega Evolution and he realized that was an even greater power, one he didn't think he could hope to control. He went insane, blasting attack after attack, and could only hope he was attacking the enemy. _

_Still, Zeno didn't get angry, didn't give up on him. He continued to push him, to help him overcome his weakness. And in time, Mega Evolution was his to control, his aura under his command. However, Blaze Kick still was out of reach and the fires of that night would haunt him forever._

...

Lucario stood, gripping his injured arm. He stumbled forwards, seeing the cultists drag his trainer away. He gritted his fangs and stumbled, realizing he was outmatched. He wanted so desperately to save them, to save Zeno, to save Blaziken. But he couldn't. He just wasn't strong enough. He hung his head, ashamed.

"Lucario."

A whisper, carried along by the wind, leaves fluttering past him. He turned and found himself in a void of darkness. He felt his aura heightened, reaching out around him. He hadn't realized he had done that.

"Lucario."

A figure now, kneeling, holding out his hand. "I promise you, if you come with me, I can give you more battles like that, harder, tougher battles that'll make your heart race. What do you say?"

Lucario felt a hand reach out and settle on his head. "Hey. Look, I'm going to do to everything I can to help you master Blaze Kick."

...

I smiled, gazing at Lucario as I touched his head. "You have done so well, Lucario. These scars, these burns are from your past. Letting yourself be engulfed in the flames of your shame won't let you grow any stronger. You have to accept them and let them guide you."

I felt sympathy for him, a kinship. "Having a past you're ashamed of isn't new, not for me. Feel my aura, Lucario. I know you have before. It may seem bright, shining like a good person, but I know there's darkness there still, deep within. A past life where I've done terrible things. But I had to let that all go." I embraced him, feeling a tear fall onto my shoulder. "Now it's time for you to let the mistakes of your past go. Now, overcome that fear, that shame, and get out there. We're all in danger and we need you."

I stood back, looking into his eyes. "I need you, Lucario."

...

My eyes opened, groggily at first as I felt myself be placed on a drawn circle with candles all around me. My gaze drifted to the forest in the distance and even with gravity pushing down on me, I managed to hold out my hand and whisper, "Now, heal those burns and show me what you're truly capable of."

...

Lucario stood, eyes closed. He sensed the forest around him and the Cultists heading in his direction where they had seen him get flung. Letting out a breath, he relaxed his fists and reached out further with his aura until he found Zeno's. He had darkness in him, but so much more light.

Lucario knew it was time, so he finally let go of his mistakes, his worry, and let his aura mix with Zeno's as the orb on his left wrist began to glow. _"Let our trust never wane, our spirits never falter. Let's show them that our bond is one that cannot be overcome! Let's show them that the past no longer defines us! Lucario!"_

...

Lucario howled and burst from the bushes, his aura blasting away the Cultists and Pokemon that were heading towards him. Light enveloped him before bursting away and his aura grew in strength. Eyes narrowing, he appeared above me, swinging his leg in an arc, the force from his aura blowing out the candles and releasing the pressure of the intense gravity. I coughed and sat up, holding my chest.

Lucario didn't waste time, rocketing forwards and blasting Dusknoir with a glowing metallic fist. He slammed both paws together, his aura blasting around him, throwing Cultists of their feet.

"Kill the Pokemon!" Sebastian shouted, pointing to the ones they had captured from the Village. "Quickly! We can still complete the-!"

Lucario passed by him and with a flick of his wrist, knocked the old man onto his back. All the Chandelures started to blast jets of flames, but Lucario swung his arms, his aura sending the flames up into the sky. He glanced back at Zoroark, who stayed crouched, already injured. He glanced away, focusing his attention on the horde of Chandelures. He formed two long bones, twirling them and then lunging forwards, knocking several of the Ghost types back. He flung the weapons and they collided with several more of them. He slammed his fist into the ground, his aura suddenly increasing with power, flipping his appendages wildly. A pulse of pink light emanated from him, healing the various injuries on the Pokemon he was protecting.

I saw Hydreigon loom over me, prepping his energy beams. Then Greninja was there, grabbing onto one of the heads, turning it so the beam would blast into his other heads. He was thrown off and collapsed near me, the curse inflicted on him having worn him down greatly. Unfortunately I didn't have his pokeball since the cultists took it all away, so I couldn't return him and let him rest.

I turned to look for my friends and was relieved to see them back on their feet, them and their Pokemon fighting back. Lucario meanwhile had engaged the Hydreigon. He threw punch after punch, either dodging or blocking incoming attacks. He was blasted back and he skidded along the ground, coming to a stop on all fours. He narrowed his eyes, sliding his right foot back further. He blasted forwards, flames streaking behind him. Howling a battle cry, he arced his foot upwards and brought it smashing down upon the middle head, slamming the Dragon type into the dirt as fire blasted upwards from the impact.

Lucario leaped away, the flames immediately disappearing from his foot, not leaving so much as a tiny burn behind. He stood tall as he surveyed the chaos around him slowly die away as the Cultists fled, disappearing into the forest.

I took a step towards Lucario, then stopped, letting Blaziken meet him first. She stood a good 2 feet taller than him when she faced him. She knelt slightly and hugged him. Lucario welcomed the embrace and the aura I felt from him reflected that. He was happy and fully content, having overcome his longest weakness. Much of the Pokemon Village had been destroyed, but we had managed to stop the Cult once again and that's what mattered. And Lucario had a long overdue homecoming, one that finally completed him.

"You did it," I whispered, smiling, staring at him. "Good job, Lucario."

**And over 4000 words again. Boy, how do I manage to do this all the time!? Well, I'm not complaining. It gives me something to do for a couple hours. After a while, the Cult has reemerged and escaped again. Who knows what they'll be plotting next? Next chapter, the final Kalos Gym Battle. Then, if all goes according to plan, the Kalos Pokemon League. Till then my ever faithful readers. Toodles**


	60. Chapter 58: His Fire

"Wood Hammer!"

The ice cracked as Mega Abomasnow's fist punched the ground, Mega Absol having leapt away at the last moment. She skidded along the slick surface of the battlefield, digging her claws into the ice, the sounds of it breaking ringing throughout the gym.

"Now then!" Alex shot out her hand. "Double Team!"

Absol immediately began making copies of herself, surrounding Abomasnow.

Caren grinned. "Oh yeah! Just try and smash my ice! Avalanche!"

Abomasnow roared, snow and ice vaulting up around him and falling towards all the Absols.

"Night Slash!" Alex shouted. "Slash your way through!"

Dark winds erupted around Abomasnow as some of the snow and ice were repelled, but all the copies were destroyed, Absol herself flinching at the attack.

"Freeze her!" Caren yelled. "Ice Beam!"

"Quick Attack!" Alex flung her hand to the side. "Then use Fire Blast! Point-Blank range!"

Absol darted around the beam of ice and came face-to-face with Abomasnow.

Alex grinned widely. "Incinerate him!"

An explosion resulted from the fiery blast, smoke consuming the immediate area around the two Pokemon. Caren coughed, waving her hand to clear some of the smoke that drifted her way. When it finally cleared, Abomasnow lay on his back, having reverted back to normal. Light glowed around Absol before disappearing, she herself having gone back to her original form as well.

"Abomasnow is unable to battle," the Ace Trainer raised her hand. "That means the Challenger, Alex, is the winner!"

Robert and I clapped as Alex met Caren in the middle of the battlefield to retrieve her badge while Clara just yawned.

"It's your turn," Robert clasped my shoulder. "Break a leg or two."

"Very encouraging," I replied dryly, getting to my feet.

I met Alex on my way down. "Fiery battle. The League is sure to be an interesting one with so many strong rivals."

Alex smirked. "Just watch yourself. You and Greninja may have that Bond thing going for you, but I'll still make sure to wipe the floor with you."

"Looking forward to it," we struck our fists against each other as we passed one another. "Now then, it's my turn."

I took my place at the opposite end of the battlefield, Caren already having a pokeball ready in her hand. "I saw what how powerful your Lucario was yesterday," she said, grinning. "I hope you can show me that same strength and attempt to break my lovely ice!"

I unclipped Lucario's pokeball. "You asked for it!" I swung it into the air. "Lucario, let's show her your strength once more!" Lucario growled as he landed on the ground, smashing his fist into the ground.

"The gym battle between Zeno the Challenger and Caren the Snowbelle Gym Leader will now begin," the Ace Trainer shouted. "Each side will have the use of only three Pokemon and the battle will be over when either trainer's Pokemon are unable to battle! Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon!"

"Let's freeze them where they stand!" Caren grinned widely, throwing out a Mamoswine. "Mamoswine, shake it up with Earthquake!"

"Dodge!" I shouted, swinging my hand. "Power-Up Punch!"

Lucario leaped into the air as the arena below cracked and swayed violently. He drew back his fist, slamming it into the ground, the resulting shock wave cancelling out the Earthquake around him.

"Let's show them our fighting spirit," I held out my knife, Mega Evolution energy flowing between me and Lucario, Keystone and Mega Stone igniting with light. "One that shall never diminish and a bond to overcome all! The Past shall stay where it is as we gaze at our future together!"

Lucario howled as he burst forwards, light dancing around his body. A wind of aura swirled around his fist as he swung, the powerful attack blasting against Mamoswine.

Caren shielded her face as the wind whipped her hair about. "Now that's what I'm talking about! Icicle Crash!"

"Dodge them!" I commanded as huge icicles came crashing down from above. Lucario weaved side-to-side, slipping at one point.

"Force Palm!" I shouted. "On the ground now!"

Lucario slammed both paws down flat, the burst of energy shooting him upwards and dodging a falling icicle.

"Grab it!" I shouted and Lucario dug his claws into the ice, heaving it around midair. "Now throw it back!" Lucario howled and swung the icicle towards Mamoswine.

"Bulldoze through it!" Caren shouted.

Mamoswine charged forwards, breaking through the Ice attack like it was nothing, charging straight towards Lucario.

"Aura to dodge!" I shouted. "Then Meteor Mash his side!"

Lucario flicked his paw, a burst of wind shooting him out of Mamoswine's path and he skidded along the ice. He closed one fist, a metallic light surrounding it. He surged forwards, smashing it against the Ice type's flank.

"Right where we wanted you!" Caren smirked. "Freeze-Dry!"

A flash burst of ice blasted out from Mamoswine's body, instantly freezing Lucario before quickly breaking. Lucario gasped at the sudden pain as he fell back.

"Now Earthquake again!" Caren pumped her fist.

Mamoswine slammed his front two feet on the ground, a powerful earthquake ripping through the arena. It bounced Lucario around before catapulting him into the air. As the earthquake died away, Lucario landed on both feet, the move having dealt a fair amount of damage.

"Heh," I grinned. "Even when facing Mega Evolution, Gym Leaders still can hold their own. Amazing." I turned to Lucario. "Let's end this quickly! Swords Dance!"

Lucario shouted, pumping both fists as he boosted his attack.

"Standing around won't help!" Caren shouted. "Icicle Crash!"

"Bone Rush!" I narrowed my eyes.

Lucario formed two large bones, one in each hand. He swung them in fast, arcing movements, smashing all the falling icicles.

"Now go!" I roared. He shot forwards, abandoning the bones.

"Full force!" Caren roared as well. "Take Down!"

"Close Combat!"

Lucario's fists became a blur as he skidded to a halt, digging his feet into the ice. His blows stopped Mamoswine in his tracks as he dealt blow after blow. I could feel winds of aura blasting off from his attacks up until the point he finally relented, Mamoswine collapsing onto his side.

"Mamoswine is unable to battle! Gym Leader Caren, please send out your next Pokemon!"

"That is truly stunning strength," Caren breathed deeply. "But my ice hasn't completely broken yet. Darmanitan, let's battle!"

A large Ice type Pokemon appeared on the battlefield that I had never seen before and I was pretty sure I heard Robert yell in joy from the stands followed by an audible smack. Alex probably didn't appreciate yelling in her ears.

"An interesting Darmanitan," I noted. "Definitely not a Fire type."

"Aw, yeah he is," Caren smiled proudly. "Got him on a vacation when I went to Circhester in Galar. Lovely place with some soothing Hot Springs." She shook her head. "But we're getting off track. Darmanitan may have a gentle soul, but his burning spirit will demolish you! Belly Drum!"

Darmanitan rose and pounded his belly, roaring in pain, but a fire seemed to burn in his eyes.

"Lucario," I said. "Power-Up Punch!"

Suddenly a cyclone of fire engulfed Darmanitan, causing Lucario to stop as he shielded his face from the heat. When it died away, something weird was left standing in Darmanitan's place. What appeared to be a snowman, it had a streak of fire bursting from near the top with a fang-grinning face on the bottom half.

"Now then!" Caren shouted with glee. "Flame Wheel!"

Lucario's eyes widened as a wheel of flames slammed into him, making him fly backwards. Darmanitan withdrew from the flames, bouncing along the surface of the arena.

"That really is something else," I clenched a fist. "And that speed... Lucario, Aura Sphere!"

"Burning Jealousy!" Caren yelled and a blast of fire shot from Darmanitan and engulfed Lucario briefly, leaving him burned.

"That is so coo-!" I heard Robert yell, but was quickly silenced by Alex.

"Not good," my eyes were wide. "Aura Sphere!"

As Lucario hurled the sphere, Darmanitan bounced away with frightening speed.

"Fire Fang!" Caren shouted and the Ice and Fire type bounced near Lucario, giant jaws made of flames erupting from Darmanitan's mouth.

"Extreme Speed!" I yelled quickly.

Lucario only just managed to escape the attacks, the flaming jaws closing on empty air. Lucario skidded along the ice, slamming both paws together.

I nodded. "Alright! Aura Bursts, GO!"

Lucario ran towards his opponent, flicking burst after burst of wind, striking Darmanitan repeatedly.

"Old news!" Caren raised her hand. "Flare Blitz!"

Darmanitan leaped and zoomed towards Lucario, engulfed in a ball of blue fire, the aura winds bouncing off.

Thinking fast, I shouted, "Close Combat!"

Both Pokemon collided, Lucario desperately trying to hold off Darmanitan from making direct contact, but an explosion ripped through the arena. Lucario was flung into the air, trailing smoke. Darmanitan fell back, fainted.

"Darmanitan is unable to battle! Gym Leader Caren, please send out your final Pokemon!"

"Not so strong defense then," I let out a sigh, taking a look at Lucario. He got to his feet, scorched slightly, but he nodded his head at me, signalling he was still good to go.

"Fine," I nodded. "Make sure you don't push yourself."

He growled, giving a thumbs-up.

"Guess that's what you would call a glass cannon," Caren returned her Pokemon, folding both arms behind her head. "Bummer it didn't beat your Lucario. Though, that goes to show just how powerful Mega Evolution really is." She smirked and let out Abomasnow. "So then, let's fight fire with fire!"

Her fingers brushed her icicle earring gently, energy connecting to her Abomasnow. "Unleash the frigid storm within. Mega Evolve!"

Abomasnow roared, growing bigger before he fully Mega Evolved. Lucario stood his ground, facing the massive Pokemon before him without a hint of fear.

"We won't lose here," I said firmly, feeling my bond with Lucario. "So bring it on!"

Lucario howled with me and he leaped towards Abomasnow's head, fist drawn back. A flurry of snow erupted between the two Pokemon, forcing Lucario back. He swung his arms, his aura blasting apart the wall of white, revealing Abomasnow lumbering forwards, swinging a long giant green log. With no time to dodge, it slammed into Lucario's side, slamming him into the side of the arena. With a gasp, he hunched forwards, grimacing in pain. He closed his fist, staring up at Abomasnow. This was one mountain he had to traverse, a challenge he couldn't run from.

Lucario stood, breathing in. His eyes shot open, irises slits. He ran for his opponent, a frigid storm hurling towards him. He leaped through it, the aura surrounding his body protecting him. Shards of ice penetrated the aura, slicing against his body. Howling, he sped forwards, flipping as he punched and kicked each shard, shattering them.

Abomasnow roared, swinging an icy fist. Lucario narrowed his eyes, slamming his own fist against it, a wind of power flying outwards from impact. Lucario used the momentum to leap higher and above the Ice type's head. He blasted several Aura Spheres down, each one striking his opponent. Abomasnow slammed his feet and arms against the ground, ice and snow blasting upwards.

Lucario closed his eyes. In his mind he saw the young and weak Riolu he used to be. Already that image of himself was fading, but now would be the perfect send off. He stood before his younger self, nodding. His eyes reopened and he roared, swinging himself forwards in an arc, flames bursting from his right foot. He swung himself down towards Abomasnow's head, his flames incinerating the snow and ice. He burst through it and slammed his foot against Abomasnow's head, a blast of flames surging upwards upon impact. He could see his mother, Blaziken having done the same move against the old protector of the Pokemon Village, proving her might as the Village Guardian.

Lucario howled with all his might, pushing his foot down further, more flames erupting around him. The heat was intense, but he no longer feared the fire. It was his and he commanded it. An explosion of fire blasted around him, obscuring the two Pokemon in smoke.

I coughed, waving away the smoke from my eyes. When it began to clear, Abomasnow lay on his back, reverted back to normal. And Lucario stood over him, fist raised in the air as the last flickers of flames around his heel sparked and disappeared, leaving behind nothing.

"Lucario!" I cheered, grinning proudly. Lucario grinned as he looked back at me, changing back to his base form. He had truly mastered his flames and proven his strength. I walked towards him, both to congratulate him and collect the badge that would prove my worth as a Kalos Trainer. The final step had been completed. Now there was only one destination left.

_"Watch out Kalos League,"_ I thought, my feet crunching the fragile ice beneath my feet. _"Because we're coming to win and the power of my bonds with my Pokemon will surely prevail."_

**I'm certain this battle was enough to show just how powerful Lucario is. But will that strength be enough to take on the League Challengers? The Lumiose Conference approaches and this will be a month of League Battles. My goal is to finish the League before the month ends. That's a lot of battles and I'll be making sure to go all out when writing them! Until then! Toodles!**


	61. Chapter 59: A Tale of Order and Chaos

"I thought you said you knew where to go," Alex sighed dramatically. "Now we're lost."

"Can it blondie," Clara snapped at her. "I know where we're going."

If I was being honest, I would say she didn't at this point. Stopping Robert before he could say anything to escalate this further, I said, "Well, we're here now, so no use complaining about it. Let's just find our way out of here for now. Blaming can come later."

After having left Snowbelle City behind, Clara had suggested using a lesser known cave to get through the mountain she claimed was a shortcut. But after an hour's worth of walking, it seemed less like that and more of a hindrance.

"Just try Lucario already," Alex groaned. "I've had enough of being stuck in here."

I shrugged, recognizing it as a good idea. I let him out and he glanced around before looking at me.

"Mind seeing if you can find a way out," I asked. "Closest exit. I really don't want to go back to the entrance near Snowbelle.

Hrring, he nodded. He rested his paw against the side of the tunnel, his aura spreading. After a few minutes, he started walking forwards.

"Oh look," Clara glanced back at Alex, smirking. "He's leading us in the direction I was taking you all."

Alex rolled her eyes and pushed past her. We followed Lucario for a couple minutes, ignoring two side passages along the way, before coming to a halt at a dead end.

"Uh, I think your Lucario's broken," Robert piped up. Alex raised her hand in front of him and he went quiet. Lucario pulled back a fist, orange energy surrounding it. He slammed it forwards, breaking a portion of the wall and revealing another cavern beyond with sunlight visible.

"And you doubted him," I said to Robert, raising an eyebrow. Lucario broke more of the wall so we could all squeeze through into the cavern. It was decently sized and a small tunnel ahead of us lead to daylight. However, we weren't alone now.

"Seriously," a woman's voice said, exasperated. "You're lucky you broke through into this chamber and not the other one."

I blinked. "Sandra?"

The tan-skinned woman regarded us with brown eyes, and if she was surprised to see us, she didn't show it. Her shorts and gray t-shirt were caked in dust, but she seemed to not mind in the slightest.

"Well then," Sandra gave a slight smile. "I'm glad you all showed up. It's a perfect opportunity to fill in the gaps of your knowledge of Kalos history and legends."

"Well, we were kinda-," Alex started, but Sandra was already motioning for us to follow her as she crossed the cavern to a portion of the wall that seemed to have been carved out to form a narrow passage.

"Follow me," she said without looking back, squeezing through the tunnel. "You have plenty of time before the Lumiose Conference begins. And I have a feeling you'll want to know what I have to share."

"And what can you share?" Robert asked.

One of Sandra's eyes glanced back at us. "Chaos."

...

Once we were all through the narrow tunnel, we now stood in another, slightly smaller cavern with a single lantern providing light and casting shadows. However, this one contained scattered cave drawings and an eerily familiar symbol highlighted in the middle of the room.

"Chaos," I muttered in disgust.

Sandra nodded. "This is not one of their little hideouts. It is merely a place meant to preserve history. The cavern we just came from, it is known as the Chamber of Emptiness. Nothing can exist within. But here," she gestured around her at the walls. "I call this the Chamber of Chaos. Contrast to where nothing can exist, in here everything can exist all at once."

"I hope you know what you're saying makes no sense whatsoever," Clara pointed out.

Sandra shrugged. "If you fail to try to understand, then don't try at all." She then turned and spread her arms. "I've told you of Xerneas and Yveltal, Mistress of Life and Herald of Death. I told you that they would not be enough to save Kalos from the Cult."

"You sure as hell didn't tell me," Clara was starting to sound very ticked off.

I stepped back to stand beside her. "I'll tell you later, just please be patient."

She snorted and looked away, face now hidden by shadows.

"What I didn't tell you then was of the other two important forces at work in Kalos," she turned to face us, expression lit eerily by the lamp. "While we have Life and Death, both contrasting one another, we also know we have Chaos. And what would balance out chaos?"

"Order," Robert nodded slowly. "Order and Chaos."

"Exactly," Sandra said softly. "Long ago, before even the war of 3000 years ago, the entire world was still in creation. I'll assume you all know the story of Arceus, his children, yadda yadda. But, a story, a legend known mostly in Kalos is of Life, Death, Order, and Chaos. Given this region to protect, Life and Death ruled side-by-side, keepers of their domain. But there was a third. One that had been given the domain of Order and Chaos. You couldn't have one without the other and without one, the world wouldn't be right. However, one wished to spread more of their domain."

"Chaos," Alex threw out there, though we were all thinking it. It wasn't hard to figure out where this was all going.

"Chaos," Sandra shook her head sadly. "Wielder of Chaos as she's called in some old legends. Or in some, Zanarchggon." She turned and pointed to a particular drawing on the wall. It showed a frightening beast, drawn misshapen upon the rough stone, curling up out of a different body. I stepped forwards almost as if in a trance, images of dreams I remembered oh so well. A curling body, claws dripping with venomous liquid, the feeling as if everything was going to descend into chaos.

"Chaos tried to rise further than she was meant to," Sandra continued. "To engulf not only Kalos in endless chaos, but the entire world." She then gestured to a new picture, one that showed dozens of streaks, all converging on a single massive entity rising above another drawing of Chaos. "The Keeper of Order, Zygarde as he is called, tried to reset the balance. He and Chaos battled, a war to rage on for years. Finally, Chaos was pushed into a weakened state and trapped within her own realm, unable to spread her chaos. Though, despite that, much chaos had already been left in the world due to their battle."

"Until now," I gripped a fist. "The Cult has been working to bring her back."

Sandra nodded. "This part of Kalos history, the one of Chaos, is well hidden and those who do know of it choose to keep silent."

"Except you apparently," Clara rolled her eyes.

Sandra ignored her. "Zygarde spread himself far and wide, beyond the limits of Kalos. He is the one who keeps leftover chaos in check, providing his strength when the world most needs it. The order that maintains the balance." Sandra's hand, which had been resting on the cavern wall, slid off. "But even so, I fear that what is to come may even be too much for him."

"Sandra," I let out a breath. "Who are you?"

She didn't turn, merely stood with her back to us, staring silently at the wall. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she said in almost a whisper, "I am merely someone who has seen too much. Someone who fears what is to come." She turned. "There is still hope. Hope that Chaos can be encaged once more, this time for good."

"Oh don't say it," I groaned.

Sandra smiled weakly. "Yes Hero Born of Darkness, a Prophecy. However, unlike that one you dealt with, this one is much older and is merely something I stumbled across."

"Well what is it?" Clara folded her arms. "We don't have all day here."

Sandra raised an eyebrow at her. "You young people. So rude to your elders." She sat, crossing her legs and resting her head against the wall. "I did an expedition into Terminus Cave years back when the mine was still operational. Found a hidden chamber with a large green lake." She closed her eyes, smiling. "Not a single ripple upon the surface. Orderly as could be..."

...

_Sandra's footsteps echoed off the walls as she skidded down the rocks, coming to a stop on flat ground. She held up a torch, it's flame flickering, however, she could see she wouldn't be needing it here. Dropping it to her side, she took a step forwards, overlooking a green underground lake, completely still. The green hue lit up the large cavern, acting as a light source. _

_She knelt, extending a finger towards the water. She tapped the water gently, a ripple spreading several feet before disappearing. Suddenly, the green light grew brighter and she heard heavy footsteps behind her. She turned to see a canine Pokemon, black and green, crouching as it stared at her. _

_"What business do you have here?" A voice said, seeming to have come from all around her._

_"Zygarde," she breathed. "It's you, isn't it? The Keeper of Order?"_

_The Pokemon growled and the voice spoke again. "I asked you a question, human."_

_Sandra held up both hands. "I am merely looking. I will do nothing to taint this place." She glanced around. "I must ask however. What do you know of Chaos?"_

_The Pokemon ceased its growling and if an expression would have been given to it, it would have been shock. A bright glow from a dark corner of the caver, and another dog appeared, stepping up close to Sandra._

_"We are Zygarde," it's voice was softer and less threatening. "Why do you seek Chaos?"_

_"I don't," Sandra shook her head. "I seek knowledge on Kalos' history for I fear dangerous times lay in Kalos' future."_

_This Zygarde extended a green hue of light and it gently enveloped Sandra before pulling away. "You are a strange human, Sandra. I do believe though, you are someone I can trust."_

_The other Zygarde growled at his partner. "You aren't seriously-!"_

_"Quiet," barked the other Zygarde. "We were both waiting for the right time for this to happen. And now is as good as any." He turned back to Sandra. "We have sensed a disturbing future ahead, not just for Kalos. So I must ask you to safeguard something for us."_

_"What is it?" she asked._

_"A Prophecy," Zygarde sat back on his haunches. "As Kalos is thrown into turmoil, evil will emerge from the darkness. Order will fall and Chaos will rise. To overcome the looming threat, the strongest of bonds must be forged and Life and Death united. But unless the foreign legend is awakened, all will be lost and the world consumed by Chaos."_

_Sandra sat there, pondering for several minutes before speaking. "Is there anymore you could tell me about this foreign legend?_

_Zygarde shook his head. "Even we don't know what is to come. That is why we have told you and only you this, Sandra, the Wandering Woman. We hope you will one day find the answers we seek before it is too late."_

...

"Did you?" Alex asked. "Find out anything more?"

Sandra nodded and stood. "Barely anything mind you." She pointed to a different section of the wall. Lit by the lantern, it showed Chaos rising and what looked to be a beast shrouded by clouds. "This is what I assume the foreign legend is, though I have yet to find any more information after all these years."

"All these years?" I looked at Sandra again. "Sounds like you've been at this for all your life."

Another sad smiled. "It does seem that way huh." She collected her lantern and headed for the tunnel. "That is all that I know of what is to come. And I believe you all know what bonds is talked about. And how things are to play out from here, I do not know. I will merely be a witness, a wandering woman."

She left, leaving us in silence and little light. Then, "Can we please get out of this cave now?"

...

The whole walk to Santalune City, Clara was silent. Dusk had arrived, the sun setting and the skies colored beautifully. As we were getting our separate rooms in the Pokemon Center, Clara grabbed my arm.

"What is it?" I asked.

She looked unsure, then said after the moment's hesitation, "You heard what Sandra said, right? About when she went to Terminus Cave?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah... Something about how the mine was still operational then."

Clara pursed her lip. "Here's the thing. Those mines haven't been operational for around 50 years."

That single sentence kept me awake long after I bid Clara goodnight. Just like the last time I had encountered Sandra, I found myself wondering who Sandra really was.

"What aren't you telling us?" I whispered, staring up at the ceiling in silence. "What are you still hiding?"

...

"I'm going to ask this one more time," Clara shook her head. "Why are we heading in the opposite direction of Lumiose?"

"My, uh, parents wanted me to visit them in Vanville," I said, still totally unsure why as well. "Anyway, we have a week still don't we? I'm pretty sure we have time for this."

It took us a while to reach Vanville. A long trek through Santalune Forest, skipping through Aquacorde Town, and finally onto the short path that lead to Vanville Town. As soon as we stepped into the town itself, I groaned, realizing what Jessie, James, and Meowth were planning.

"Oh dear Arceus," I groaned. "Why!?"

James looked up from the larger Meowth balloon, where he and Preston were finishing typing things up with a much larger basket, but gone with the Team Rocket symbol. "Hey, Zeno! You made it!" He was wearing a blue shirt with a yellow vest over it, a badge hanging from a cord around his neck and a bag around his hip. His blue hair was up in a man-bun of sorts, his three large bangs in front, and a one-sided earpiece with a mic.

Jessie grinned beside him, holding a camera on her shoulder. "Don't worry! There's plenty of room for everyone." She was wearing similar clothes to James, but with a pink shirt and jeans, along with an orange hat.

Meowth meanwhile was probably wearing a thick bodysuit complete with a brown wig covered by a beige cap. He held a large deadcat microphone and said, "Hurry up! We want to get there before it gets dark!"

"I am not getting in that thing," Clara was staring at the balloon wide-eyed, but Alex snagged her wrist.

"You can't refuse," Alex said wickedly. "Now come on."

"Your folks are awesome," Robert slapped me on the back as he headed over.

I shook my head, exasperated, but a smile appeared. "Yeah, I guess they are."

Not long later, we were in the sky, a course set for Lumiose City.

"Kalos League here we come!" Alex shouted as Clara hung onto the side of the basket for dear life. Preston groaned, complaining how he didn't feel safe leaving the house. I grinned, feeling the wind rush by as the city came into view. Once again, it was time to see just how far me and my team had come.

I glanced down at Greninja's pokeball and rubbed it gently. "Let's show them the power of our bond, Greninja."

**And the Lumiose Conference begins on the next chapter! Oh, and the real name of Chaos has been revealed. Zanarchggon. Quite a mouthful eh? Pronounced Zan-arc-hogg-on. I'll let you all try and figure out the meaning behind her name. It does have several meanings, just like regular Pokemon names. So, until next time when the League starts. Toodles!**


	62. Chapter 60: The Battles Begin in Lumiose

"We have to leave early so we can get our job done," James held a thumbs up. "Good luck out there kiddo! We believe in you!"

Jessie beamed at Alex. "Now we aren't forgetting about you dear. We'll be cheering you on as well."

"Yeah!" Meowth wobbled over, holding the mic aloft. "And we'll make sure to get all the best angles of the battles!"

"So," Preston muttered to Clara. "Ever feel like the odd one out amongst these kind of people?"

Preston wore a cap over his black hair, having cut it shorter, and wore beige shorts and black t-shirt with a Darkrai design. Clara meanwhile kept things the same for her looks. Even with this summer weather bound to get hotter, she continued to wear her leather jacket and combat boots.

Clara rolled her eyes. "You should see the trouble these three get into. It's unfreakin' believable. Just the other day we were hopping from one world to the next through these portals." Preston stared at her, likely unsure if she was making fun of him or being serious.

We stood outside the enormous stadium, people milling about with their Pokemon. There were trainers around as well and I had no idea how many would be participating. The stadium itself was built within a natural canyon with different areas of flat land being given a purpose. There were small parks, a cylinder shaped glass hotel that doubled as a Pokemon Center, and several practice fields for training.

"This place has everything," I muttered to myself. Then, "Hey, Clara!" I raised my hand after I had bid the Rocket trio farewell. "You coming or what?"

She nodded and made her way over to where Alex and I were waiting. Robert joined Preston and nudged his side. "Let's go find ourselves some seats. We need good ones and ones saved for them if they decide to join us."

"Man," Alex raised her hand, folding them behind her head. "Feels like yesterday we were climbing Mount Lanakila to get to the Alolan League. Then it felt new and sort of..."

"Unofficial," I suggested and she nodded. "I know what you mean. This place, this league, it feels more real, more of a challenge."

Clara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you made it pretty far in a League already, but that was in the boonies. Here, it's for real. Be prepared for strong trainers all around. No one comes in here by accident."

"So where do we sign up?" Alex asked, glancing around.

"Follow me," Clara instructed, leading Alex and I over to a separate area away from the stadium. We crossed a bridge where trainers had gathered around tables with fine cloth and an assortment of foods decorating them. Once we got ourselves signed up, we settled on one of the few remaining empty tables.

"Well then, this is the competition," Alex glanced around at the trainers milling around. "Not a whole lot honestly."

"Maybe because of recent events," Clara mused. "Might have scared people away from the tournament."

I shook my head. "I can see why they would have."

"Ah, Zeno," Alex tugged on my shirt sleeve, pointing. I looked to see Ash and Pikachu at one of the tables. "He's here."

"Just as I had hoped," I grinned, already starting to make my way over.

"Who?" Clara was confused for a second, then sighed. "Oh, right. He's that other annoying person who rudely interrupted me way back."

"Ash," I called out. "Hey!"

He turned and grinned widely as Pikachu looked up from his ketchup bottle. "I knew you'd make it. Both of you. I wonder what our battle will be like if I happen to battle either you or Alex."

Clara poked him in the chest. "You better be watching out for me instead."

Ash smirked. "I'd expect as much from someone who's Zeno's rival."

"Ah, if it isn't you three," someone with pale skin and big edgy black and white hair raised his hand in greeting, his face like one of a corpse.

"Piers," Clara raised an eyebrow. "You still haven't gone back to Galar?"

The rock star half-smiled. "Sorry miss, but I still have plans here. Particularly this league." His eyes wandered to look at the stadium. "I'm one of the best Gym Leaders in Galar, so I wanted to test me mettle in Kalos."

"Well then," I held out my arms. "The more the merrier."

"I'll say," Ash pumped his fist. "Man, I think this is the most stoked I've been for any other league."

_"That's right,"_ I thought, glancing at him. _"Ash has participated in several major leagues. Of course we've battled and it's been close between us, but I wonder if he'll be pulling all the stops for this? And would I still be able to match him, let alone beat him?"_

I thought I heard a soft growl come from Arcanine's pokeball, reassuring me. I smiled. _"Yeah, you're right. Even if that's the case, we won't lose to him."_

"Hey, is that-" I heard Ash start to jog away and I looked to see him heading towards someone wearing a blue scarf. Alain. They exchanged words none of us could hear and when they were done, Alain started to leave.

"I'll be right back," I told Alex and made my way to intercept Alain.

Alain stopped, raising an eyebrow. "You were that one person with the Mega Lucario I battled back in Laverre City."

I nodded, stepping towards him. I stood on his right, placing my hand on his shoulder. "I saw you there, Alain. I saw you in Team Flare's Secret HQ."

Alain stiffened, but didn't say anything. So he didn't plan on denying it.

"I don't know why you're involved with them," I tightened my grip slightly. "I don't know why you're here. But know this," I glanced at him from the corners of my eyes. "I will destroy what is left of Team Flare. And if I have to take you down as well, so be it."

I walked away, putting on a fake smile to hide the seriousness of what I had just said. I didn't look back at Alain, determined now be on the lookout for any signs of Team Flare. If one was here, then there were sure to be others.

"So you know Alain as well?" Ash asked as I returned to our group.

"Something like that," I rubbed the back of my head.

"He beat Zeno in a battle," Alex offered, offering me a sly smile.

Ash chuckled. "Really now?"

"That was a while ago," I looked back to see Alain had disappeared. "Now, I'm certain I could beat him."

"Not if I do that first," Ash grinned.

"Trainers, gather around!" someone was now on the stage, looking down at all of us. We all hurried further as the giant screen above it flickered on, showing all of the participating trainers. "While there are only half of the usual 128 participating trainers, this will most certainly be a league to remember! Now, for the first round match-ups! Please direct your attention to the screen!"

All the cards turned face-down and began shuffling across the screen randomly. I held my breath as Alex gripped my hand. Then with a ping, all match-ups had been decided and the cards turned over. I heard Ash sigh in relief behind me and I too couldn't help but share his sentiment. None of us had been paired together.

"So I go on the 18th round," Alex murmured and began searching for her opponent among the crowd of gathered trainers.

"6th for me," I said, seeing the person I was up against stop in front of me. He had a stocky figure and held an umbrella over his left shoulder, something shining at the tip. He had adorned red pain on his face, chest, and arms, the ones on his chest shown through his slightly opened dark blue robe. He had bushy black hair completed with a beard.

"So you're the one I'll be facing," he grinned cockily. "My name's Remo. Put up a good fight, alright? My main objective may be that kid with the Charizard, but I am looking forward to battling everyone else."

"Zeno," I nodded to his umbrella. "And I hope you'll bring everything you got to our battle. I wouldn't want to feel like you held back for me."

He boomed with laughter. "You asked for it kid."

Once Ash had finished talking to the trainer he would be facing, he rejoined Alex and I. "Alright, we all agree to make it past the first round?"

Clara snorted as she returned. "Like I would get beat that early in the League."

"Let's hurry to the stadium," Ash said. "I can't wait to see the first round! Though I have the feeling the it'll be over far too quickly."

I glanced back up at the preliminary match-ups. Alain was first to battle, up against Trevor. While I didn't know Trevor's Pokemon, I had a feeling Ash was right.

...

Fireworks exploded above the stadium as the crowd cheered wildly. Two young women opened a large pokeball down below, dozens of Fletchlings fluttering out into the sky.

_"With weather so clear it almost seems like it wants to bless this event, the day has finally come!"_ the announcer voiced with enthusiasm. _"We'll begin with the opening ceremony! It's time for Kalos Champion Diantha's opening speech!"_

I smiled warmly as I saw Diantha rise from where she sat next to Professor Sycamore. "It seems like Team Radiance was able to make her better after all."

"Indeed," Robert rubbed his chin. "I would love to see how they did it."

Diantha was now being shown on the big screen, her eyes closed as she waited for most of the noise to die down. Then, "Dear trainers, the experience and efforts you have accumulated to come here are irreplaceable! Please feel free to channel all of it into the Kalos League here!" She smiled. "Our beloved region has been plagued by one tragic event after another! I myself was a victim! But, just as I was able to heal, so has Kalos! And this league's battles will be proof of how strong Kalos is!" She raised her arm. "Now then, I hereby declare the Kalos League open!"

As Trevor and Alain both began walking through glass tunnels on opposite sides of the stadium towards a large hole in the ground, the announcer spoke again. "Fighting in the opening battle will be competitors Trevor and Alain!" On screen, their faces appeared, along with three pokeball symbols within hexagons. "Until the semifinals, the battles will be three-on-three! Also, the field will selected randomly!"

"That's different," Alex muttered. "An interesting challenge nonetheless."

"All right, the field that will adorn the opening battle is this one!" a large platform was raised from the hole, settling so it connected to Alain and Trevor's platforms. A small waterfall trickled down into a wide river, surrounded by two hills of rocky ground. "The water and rock field!"

...

I watched as Ash's battle finished from inside the waiting room. Titus, who wore a snow coat similar to his Altaria's look, had Mega Evolved the Dragon type. Ash had responded favorably, his Greninja dealing blow after blow, before getting knocked back. Then Ash and Greninja both decided it was time, showing off their Bond Form. I watched the battle quickly turn in their favor, easily winning the second match of the day.

"He'll be tough to take down," I noted, Alex nodding beside me. "But Alain..."

That battle had been easily one-sided. With just a Metagross, he already had a very strong Pokemon. But then his Charizard. While Trevor pulled a surprising twist of having a different Mega Evolved Charizard, he was still no match against Alain's.

"About him," Alex grabbed my wrist. "Zeno, what did you say to him?"

I sighed. "Can't hide anything from you, can I?"

"Not really," Alex shrugged, then moved so she sat facing me. "Zeno, you had that look about you. I know that look. What is it?"

"I saw him," I said after a moment. "Alain. I saw him in Flare's base back in Geosenge."

Alex didn't groan, nor did she look surprised. Instead, she just nodded. "What are we going to do about it?"

"Right now, I don't know," I shook my head. "Ash said that he figured Alain was here so he they could battle again. But, I just don't know."

"Think Team Flare might try something to interrupt the League?" Alex asked the obvious question now.

"I sure hope not," I sighed. "If only we could..." I trailed off, an idea coming to me. "Hold that thought."

I pulled out my Holo Caster, started to type in a number, paused, then deleted it and put in a different number. It took two tries before the call was picked up.

"Zeno?" Preston sounded confused. "Sorry, I had to move out of the seats and somewhere quiet. What's up?"

"You alone?" I asked.

He glanced around. "Yeah. Why?"

"Listen," I leaned in closer, thankful Alex and I were the only ones in this waiting room for the moment. "I need you and the other three to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. And if it leads to Team Flare, tell me."

"Yeah, okay," Preston nodded. "I can do that, sure. I'll tell Jessie and James when they're shift is over."

"Good man," I ended the call and glanced at Alex. "Let's hope this is enough."

We watched the next couple battles before I finally stood, the 5th match nearly over. Alex squeezed my hand and smirked. "Don't lose okay?"

"Never," I promised, leaving the room. I walked down the hall, footsteps echoing. I could hear a distant thrum through the ceiling, only getting louder as I neared the battlefield. As I began my walk through the glass tunnel, the cheers from the crowd hit me full force, my eyes adjusting to the sight. The screens were highlighting Remo and myself, three pokeball symbols next to our faces. A platform was already rising from the hole, a plain field of earth with large stones jutting out of the ground.

I stared across the battlefield at Remo, who was grinning as he held up an Ultra Ball. I slid my fingers over the three pokeballs I had brought with me. "Alright then, the League truly begins now." I grabbed the middle ball and enlarged it. "Now, I choose you!"

**And the Kalos League... BEGINS! Time for some epic and crazy battles! Alright then, place your bets my readers. I want to know who exactly you all are rooting for here. Is it Zeno, our resident Hero Born of Darkness, the protag? What about Alex and her sarcastic nature? Could it be that some of you wish for Alain to win like he did in the anime where he defeated Ash? Or, what about Ash? Do some of you wish for the trainer from Pallet Town and his Pikachu to win? Or do we have a couple Piers fans out there, wanting everyone's favorite gym leader from Galar to claim victory? So, until the next chapter,** "Showcases of Strength"! **Toodles!**


	63. Chapter 61: Showcases of Strength

"The 6th match of the day brings us a trainer from Vaniville Town itself, Zeno! And his opponent, the ferocious Remo! Their field is the rocky one, so let's see what interesting strategies these two trainers can show us today!"

I rubbed the middle pokeball on my belt. _"Ash, you sure did amaze everyone earlier with your Greninja. While I already knew of your bond, to think you would even take down that Mega Altaria in just two hits. I'll have to do a lot to prove just how strong I am."_ I enlarged the ball and threw it. "I choose you!"

"Biiishaaarp!" Bisharp cried, striking his metal arms together, a clanging sound echoing around the stadium.

Clara smiled from the stands. "So he's taken good care of you then. Thank you, Zeno."

Remo hefted his Ultra Ball, swinging it out like a pitcher. "Gurdie!"

A Gurdurr roared as it entered the battlefield, hefting a red metal beam with one hand.

"Let the 6th match, begin!" the referee swung down his hand.

"Bisharp, use Swords Dance!" I shouted, thrusting out my hand. He clanged his arms together again, glowing swords surrounding him as his attack was boosted.

"Gurdie," Remo stomped one foot. "Bulk Up!

Gurdurr slammed his beam into the ground, his muscles expanding slightly as a red aura surrounded him.

"We can't afford to waste anymore time," I realized. "Bisharp, Metal Claw!"

Bisharp's blades extended, growing sharper as they glowed. He ran towards Gurdurr, sliding past him as he sliced. Gurdurr dropped to one knee, wincing.

Remo furrowed his brows. "Strong is he? Well, we won't be put down that easily!" He slapped his leg. "Slam him!"

Gurdurr turned around, swinging his beam in an arc towards Bisharp. He rose both arms to hold off the blow, but was still slammed to the ground.

"Now," Remo grinned broadly. "Superpower!"

Bisharp's eyes widened as Gurdurr hefted him up, then swung him with all his might. Bisharp crashed and skidded along the ground. He struggled to stand, but collapsed.

"Bisharp is unable to battle!" the ref called, his hand moving to point towards Gurdurr. "Gurdurr wins!"

_"A fantastic show of strength! In just two moves Bisharp has been taken out, claiming his first victory!"_ On screen, Bisharp's face faded into gray, only two of my pokeballs now highlighted still.

"Guuurduuurrrrr!" Gurdurr roared, proudly swinging his metal beam with both hands.

"You take a good rest, Bisharp," I returned him. "Despite evolving, you're still pretty new to this team. I'll be sure to take that into account next time. In the meantime, let us finish this." I tossed my pokeball into the air, my second Pokemon being revealed.

_"Amazing!"_ the announcer cried as the crowd gasped and cheered for my Water type._ "That gleaming black skin! It's a shiny Greninja!"_

"Grenin," Greninja croaked, folding both arms as he stood tall on both legs. He glanced back at me, asking a silent question.

"Not yet," I answered, nodding. "For now, just show them what you can do! Water Pulse!"

Greninja crouched as he formed a sphere of water, shooting it towards Gurdurr. The Fighting type, lacking speed, was unable to dodge as he took the attack head on. He shook himself, slamming the beam on the ground.

"Let's push our advantage," Remo commanded. "Focus Blast!

Gurdurr stuck the metal beam into the ground and began forming a sphere of energy.

"Forwards!" I shouted, Greninja hopping towards the Fighting type

"Blast him!" Remo roared.

"Use Cut!" I shouted.

Greninja swung a glowing blade, slicing the Focus Blast in two, the attack slamming into two separate rocks, blowing them up.

"Use Superpower!" Remo shouted. "Send those rocks flying!"

Gurdurr swung his beam around, using the terrain to his advantage by smashing several rocks, the shattered pieces flying towards Greninja.

"Use Smokescreen!" I commanded.

Greninja slammed a small object in front of him, smoke quickly engulfing him and the surrounding area. The rocks flew in and the sounds of their crashing could be heard

"Keep an eye out Gurdie!" Remo's head darted right and left, trying to catch a glimpse of Greninja. Gurdurr stood his ground, beam held out in front of him like a shield.

Just as the smoke began to thin, I shouted, "NOW!" A dozen black Greninjas shot out from all sides of the smoke, each wielding a shuriken. "Water Shuriken!"

A dozen Water Shurikens zoomed towards Gurdurr and he couldn't protect himself from all of them. He was flung back, struggling to stand.

"Finish him!" I shouted. "Power-Up Punch!"

Greninja sped towards the rising Gurdurr, slamming his fist into his stomach. The Fighting type's eyes widened as he was flung back, crashing at Remo's feet, knocked out cold.

"Gurdurr is unable to battle! Greninja wins!"

The crowd cheered, making me smirk. They hadn't seen nothing yet. If they thought Ash's Greninja was truly shocking, I would have to stun them beyond belief. Once Gurdurr was returned, Remo let out a Rhyperior.

"We may be at a disadvantage," Remo gripped his free hand, his muscles bulging slightly. "But we are still powerful enough to take you down!"

_"Those are fighting words! Can Rhypo seriously take down a powerful Greninja!?"_

"Your call," I met Greninja's gaze. "Want to show them?"

"Grenin," he appeared to be smirking, nodding his head.

"Alright then," I held up my fist, feeling adrenaline begin to course through me. "Let's show them all we got!" I felt our connection spike as Greninja's red eyes gleamed as he burst forwards. "Kage-Shinobi!"

Water burst around him, forming a sphere of liquid around himself as shards of stone zoomed towards him. He leaped and dodged as he went, every sharp stone missing. Greninja flung his hand, the water bursting outwards, swarming back in to form the cloak and a large shuriken in his outstretched hand.

"Water Shuriken!" I roared.

"Greninjjjjaaaa!" Greninja cried, flipping as he flung the shuriken. It slammed into Rhyperior's chest, knocking the Rock type onto his back. Greninja leaped backwards, landing standing up, two fingers held up in front of his face.

_"ASTOUNDING!"_ The announcer shouted as the crowd went wild. _"The second Greninja today has made his appearance with an unexpected form without the use of a Keystone! What a surprising turn of events!"_

"Just like that Ash kid from before," Remo rubbed his jaw after returning his Rhyperior. "I was amazed at his power and wasn't so sure if I could match up to that," he grinned, both letting out a Garchomp with a blue necklace and a Mega Stone attached to it, and swinging his umbrella around to have the Keystone placed at the top face forwards. "But once we defeat you, victory in the Kalos League is all but assured."

"Don't get too confident now," I felt elated, all eyes upon the visual bond Greninja and I had accumulated up till now. "'Cause here we come!"

"Bring it on!" Remo bellowed. "I, Remo the great Dragon Trainer, will defeat you here and now! Open your eyes and take a good look! Garchoo, Mega Evolve!"

Light burst from his Keystone, connecting with Garchomp's Mega Stone. Garchomp grew slightly taller, more spikes appearing along his body, and his arms turning into scythes.

"Use Dragon Rush!" Remo roared.

"Meet him head-on!" I commanded. "Night Slash!"

Garchomp flew up into the sky, a spectral dragon forming around his body as he blasted towards his opponent. Greninja swung two blades into his hands, both darkening as he jumped to meet Garchomp. He swung both blade, unleashing a wind of darkness as Garchomp collided with him. Greninja, body smoking, crashed to the ground, but immediately leaped to his feet as Garchomp still hung in the sky.

"Draco Meteor!" Remo shouted and Garchomp reared back his head, shooting a glowing rock into the sky. It burst, sending over a dozen flaming missiles raining down on the rocky terrain.

"Show time," I cracked my knuckles. "Show them your athletic prowess!"

Greninja ran, dodging the crashing rocks. He leaped onto a large stone and leaped into the sky before a missile smashed through it. He then leaped onto one of the Draco Meteors while pulling off his cloak, using the resulting explosion to send him above Garchomp, who looked up in surprise.

"Now then," I reached my arm behind me, Greninja mirroring my movements as he grasped his large shuriken on his back. "Water Shuriken!" Greninja swung the weapon into Garchomp as he roared with me, an explosion ripping through the sky.

...

_"Much of this tournament has already shown off many Mega Evolved Pokemon, a trend likely to continue up until the finals! To advance further in this league, having a Mega Pokemon may be the deciding factor if you move up or get disqualified!"_

"Yeah, keep thinking that," Clara smirked. "Scizor, use Bullet Punch!"

Scizor repeatedly slammed his pincers against the Mega Blastoise, forcing the Water type back a couple steps.

"Tank those attacks!" Herbert shouted. "Hydro Cannon!"

Blastoise fired off three shots, two from his arm cannons and one from the large cannon protruding from his back.

"Fury Cutter!" Clara thrust out her hand. "Quick succession!"

Scizor hit each incoming bullet of water, blasted back several feet, but still standing and had taken less damage than he probably would have if he had taken them head-on.

"I see," Robert cocked an eyebrow next to me. "Just like how your Arcanine uses Reversal."

"Huh?" I glanced at him, then focused my attention back to the battlefield where I quickly realized what my friend had meant.

"Fury Cutter!" Clara shouted and Scizor slammed his pincers against Blastoise, the force of the attack sending the Water type crashing onto his shell, spinning five full revolutions before stopping and reverting back to his base form.

"Blastoise is unable to battle! That means Clara advances onto the next round of preliminary match-ups!"

_"Despite the power boost that Mega Evolution offers, this Scizor proves that even that isn't enough for a well trained Pokemon and sheer determination!"_

"You're up soon," I glanced at Alex, who was already starting to stand.

"Yep," she grinned, pushing back her hair. "I'll show you just how easily I can advance on to the next round."

...

"Night Slash!" Both girls yelled, the two moves cancelling one another out.

"Well who could have predicted this development," Robert chuckled. "It's almost like the the universe is taunting Alex."

Clara smirked. "It would be almost too funny if she lost like this."

"Oi, shut it, the both of you," I sighed, but I had to admit, this was a very coincidental match-up.

Back on the battlefield, Alex muttered, "Bet they're having a happy time up in the stands watching this."

_"Down to their last Pokemon each, both Astrid and Alex have both pulled a surprising twist to their battle, with both having a Mega Evolved Absol! Who will falter first!?"_

"Not us," Alex growled. "Absol, Dark Pulse!"

Her Mega Absol held her ground, blasting a beam of darkness towards the other Absol.

"Block with Mega Horn!" Astrid commanded. "And take her out!"

The enemy Mega Absol swung her head, her green glowing horn blocking the Dark Pulse before rushing towards her opponent.

Alex grimaced. "Sucker Punch!" Her Absol darted forwards, swiping her paw against her enemy's left flank. "Now Double Team!"

Just as the enemy Absol swung her head around, multiple copies of her enemy appeared, her attack going through one of them.

"Perfect," Alex smirked, gripping her fist in front of her. "Foul Play!"

A crash and the enemy Absol was flung into the air before crashing into a tree, leaves fluttering down. Light quickly enveloped her and disappeared, the Absol back to her normal form.

"Absol is unable to battle! That means Alex advances onto the next round of preliminary match-ups!"

"Oh heck yeah," Alex hugged her Absol as she reverted back to normal. "You're amazing Absol!"

Absol blinked, before closing them contently, welcoming the hug from her trainer.

"Now all that's left to do is wait for the battles to finish and see what the next match-ups will be for tomorrow," Serena commented next to Ash.

"Yeah," Ash nodded. "I wonder who I'll be battling..."

I listened to their conversation for a minute before noticing Preston in the corner of my eye. I glanced at him, but he shook his head. Nodding, I sighed in relief. So far, no sign of Team Flare. Maybe Alain being here was just so he could battle Ash and not for Team Flare...

...

"And that concludes the preliminary battles for today folks! If you would please direct your attention to the big screen, we will have the next match-ups for tomorrow's preliminary battles!"

On screen, the faces of all remaining 32 trainers began swirling around for ten seconds, every one of the trainers holding their breath. With a ding, it was done. I quickly scanned for my face, finding it close to the end, the 14th match-up against some auburn haired girl.

"Oh hey, Alex," Robert pointed. "You're first for tomorrow!"

"I am," Alex looked surprised, then her eyes widened further. "And my opponent is-!"

"Me," Piers said from the seat behind us. He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling. "So it seems I'll be up against a pretty strong trainer. Guess I shouldn't be lazing around no more."

I stared at the screen, shocked at seeing someone's face that I hadn't expected to see. Blue hair and cold calculating eyes.

"Kamake," I muttered. "What are you doing here?"

**And the first round is over! All our heroes have made it to the second rounds, but now either Alex or Piers will be eliminated! Next chapter,** "Obstructing Opponent"**, a showdown between everyone's favorite heroine and the Dark type Gym Leader of Galar! So until then! Toodles**


	64. Chapter 62: Obstructing Opponent

_"You're leaving?" Hartley stood beneath the tree, looking dejected as the shade soothed the hot Hoenn weather. "Why?"_

_Alex paused, halfway to returning her Vulpix. "I've told you before. I can't stay here. Too many painful memories. And I'm old enough to go on my own as a Pokemon Trainer, so that's what I'm going to do. I've saved up the money and everything."_

_"But I'm ten," he argued. "You could take me with you. There are loads of places where ten year-olds go on journeys as a trainer."_

_"The world isn't as safe as it looks," Alex went over and rubbed her brother's messy blonde hair. "And it's better if it's just me. Besides, you have the foster home. They're both great people, you and I both know that."_

_He shuffled his feet. "But it won't be the same without you."_

_Alex knelt slightly, pulling him in close. "Look, I'm going to make a name for myself out there. You'll be able to find me once I do and I expect you to be a powerful trainer." She was glad he couldn't see her face. The real reason she wanted to get away was not so she could become a great trainer, but so she could get away from Hoenn altogether._

_Once she pulled back, she stood. "Me and Vulpix need to catch our flight. Stay safe, Hartley."_

...

Alex rolled her pokeball in the palm of her hand, the one that contained her first partner Pokemon, Ninetales. That day when she first left felt so long ago. Returning there after her time in Alola, it felt oddly nostalgic, but also dredged up horrible memories. She was ashamed to admit that she couldn't help but lump her own brother into how she perceived Hoenn. She loved him dearly, but he was still a reminder of what she went through.

"This time," Alex swore to herself. "This time I'll become recognized. Something to overshadow the past."

But, deep down she wondered if this was the correct path for her. Would winning a league really make that much of a difference?

_"Yes," _she decided. _"It would mean I would have no trouble going home, ashamed of my past." _Then, _"But what about Zeno? Would I ever need to go back?"_

The second time she had left Hoenn, she knew it had hurt her brother in more ways than one. He was one of the only reasons she would ever want to go back.

_"But my path lies with Zeno, doesn't it," _she thought. _"I can feel that it does. If one day that path leads me back home, then at least he'll be there with me."_

The screen above her changed, showing a countdown. Five minutes to go before she was needed in the stadium to have the opening battle for the second round. Alex stood, pulling back her hair into a loose ponytail.

"I'll come back Hartley, one day," she promised softly. "When I've become strong enough to return."

...

The sunlight was dazzling, nearly blinding her as the stadium buzzed with talk and cheers.

_"Goooood mornin' ladies and gentlemen! Another beautiful day has blessed this grand tournament and I for one am truly excited to see what is in store for the upcoming 16 battles! First up today we have Alex from the Hoenn region! And opposite of her one of Galar's very own Gym Leaders, Piers! Let's see how this battle will be decided!"_

A part of the crowd cheered extra loud at his mention, Piers waving up at them, looking even more pale in the sunlight. However, Alex could tell he was strong, strong enough to be one of Galar's top Gym Leaders.

_"And for today's first battle, their field will be the Badlands!" _The battlefield rose from the ground, a harsh looking desert with several raised parts of rocky surface.

Piers rubbed his tired looking eyes before pulling out his skull decorated speaker and placed it in front of him. He grinned, grabbing one of his pokeballs from his side. Alex in turn grabbed one as well, both tossing out their Pokemon at the same time.

"Alright Vespiquen, we'll have the advantage here," Alex assured, seeing that their opponent was a Malamar. "A definite advantage so it seems. So let's show the crowd a quick battle!"

"This will be refreshing ain't it," Piers patted his Malamar on the shoulder. "Not having to deal with Dynamaxed and the likes. Just a honest-to-god Pokemon battle." He glanced up into the crowd, spotting the camera crew fixed on him and did a little wave. "Wish me luck, me sis Marnie."

"Let the first battle for the second round of preliminaries, begin!"

Alex wasted no time in shouting, "Attack Order!"

Vespiquen raised her body, tendrils of green light shooting towards Malamar.

"Night Slash those pesky bugs away!" Piers yelled, throwing out his hand. "And Payback in full!"

Malamar whipped his tentacles about, creating a fierce dark wind that countered most of the Bug attack, but still received damage. Then the Dark and Psychic type began hovering towards Vespiquen, lashing out with his tentacles.

However, Alex was ready. "Defend Order!"

Green light shot up around the Bug type, increasing her defense just as Malamar's tentacles slammed into her. She held her ground, pushing them away.

"Struggle Bug!" Alex yelled. "Lower his power!"

Piers smirked, flicking his mic to get that ringing sound. "That's our queue! Take that hit and Lash Out!"

"What?" Alex muttered, her Vespiquen sending the flurry of attacks into Malamar. The enemy Pokemon winced, then lashed out his tentacles, each one a devastating blow against Vespiquen. She backed away from Malamar, already on the verge of collapsing.

"One last Payback will do!" Piers shouted.

With no time to think of an alternate solution, Alex shouted, "Destiny Bond!"

Just as Malamar lashed out, a ghostly light connected him and Vespiquen. As the Bug type was knocked into unconsciousness, the ghostly aura surrounded Malamar, making him collapse as well.

_"With a well-timed Destiny Bond, both trainer's first Pokemon are out of the battle! What could possibly be next!?"_

"Return," Alex quickly clipped Vespiquen's pokeball to her belt before switching in Florges.

"Shame," Piers sighed, returning Malamar. "Even when on the ropes, she was still able to finish you." He tossed out his next Pokemon. "Get ready to make a stink with Toxic!"

"Moonblast!" Alex shouted as the Skuntank began running towards her Fairy type.

The attack blasted into Skuntank, but didn't slow him down. A purple fluid was launched and landed on Florges, badly poisoning her instantly.

"Send him back with Petal Blizzard!" Alex shouted and the petals threw Skuntank back ten feet. "Now Aromatherapy!"

Florges spread her arms, her orange flowers glowing with energy, erasing the toxic poisoning.

"Alright then," Alex allowed herself a sigh of relief before turning back to the battle. "Energy Ball!"

"Sucker Punch her first!" Piers nodded his head to a beat only he could hear. "And gas up the area!"

Skuntank ran low to the ground, the Energy Ball soaring just above his head. He lunged forwards, striking a paw against Florges' middle. Then a purple toxic gas sprung into existence, poisoning Florges and she cried out in pain.

"Now Venoshock!"

Florges was drenched in more poisonous liquid, nearly bringing her down for good.

"Aromatherapy!" Alex shouted. "And Dazzling Gleam!"

The blast knocked Skuntank away, giving Alex and Florges a little breathing room.

_"He's tough,"_ Alex thought. _"Tougher than I thought. We're barely able to hold our own. I hate how this plan's going to go, but we have little choice."_

"Keep your distance," Alex instructed her Pokemon. "Petal Blizzard!"

A storm of petals flew up around Florges, keeping Skuntank at bay.

_"C'mon,"_ Alex gritted her teeth. _"Just do it already! Be predictable!"_

"Toxic," Piers shouted.

As Florges dodged the attack, Piers grinned. "Poison Gas!"

_"NOW!"_ Alex roared in her head. "Florges, Sunny Day!"

Skuntank was close now, he had to be to unleash the gas attack, and as he did, Florges began forming the ball of sunlight. Skuntank's eyes widened almost comically as the poison gas touched the ball of fire and resulted in a fiery explosion. Alex knew Florges was down without even having to look, but she didn't know about Skuntank. But upon seeing the Dark type fainted, she sighed, relieved.

_"Just like with the Destiny Bond earlier, Alex has managed to take down her opponent, but at the cost of her own Pokemon! Does Piers have her on the ropes!?"_

"Obstagoon," Piers shouted, sending out his Galar Pokemon. "Let's get ready to Obstruct her!"

"It has been a while, hasn't it," Alex closed her eyes as she rubbed the pokeball she held in her hand. "Now then, let's show them our passion!" A fire blazed in Alex's eyes as she slammed her foot into the ground, hurling the pokeball. "Let's finish this!"

A large feline landed on the battlefield, fire looping around his waist like a wrestler's belt. He stood and pumped his chest out, roaring as he flexed his claws.

Piers grinned upon seeing Alex's Pokemon. "Now that's a Dark type if I've ever seen one!"

"Oh yes," Alex cracked her knuckles. "Alright Incineroar, it's showtime! Give him all you got! Get in close and use Flamethrower!"

Incineroar growled and ran, dropping to all four paws, clearing the distance between him and Obstagoon in no time. The fire completely engulfed the Dark type and Incineroar made to slam his foot into Obstagoon's side.

"Now Obstruct him!" Piers commanded.

Obstagoon held both arms together in front of him and roared, his tongue flapping like crazy. A barrier in the shape of a dark x appeared, blocking Incineroar's attack, the Fire type wincing as his attack was lowered.

"Now Cross Chop him!" Piers swung his pole around.

"You Cross Chop as well!" Alex shouted.

Both Pokemon collided with one another, both of them sliding backwards in the dirt.

"Darkest Lariat!" Alex roared.

Without even getting up, Incineroar began spinning his body, a dark aura surrounding him. He catapulted into the air, slamming down on Obstagoon.

"Grab hold and make him submit!" Piers shouted.

Obstagoon reached up and squeezed Incineroar hard, the Fire type crying out in pain.

"Only one way out," Alex realized. "Flare Blitz!"

Fire erupted around Incineroar, blasting him away from Obstagoon, the intense flames burning the Normal type.

"Get back in there and use Throat Chop!" Alex ordered.

"Obstruct!" Piers shouted and Incineroar's attack was once again blocked. "Now feel that burn and use Facade!"

Alex's eyes widened. "INCINEROAR!"

Incineroar's belt blazed, growing bigger as he slammed a fist into the earth, the badlands cracking as heat was released. Huge searing flames erupted, blasting Obstagoon into the sky. Incineroar crouched, then sprung after him.

"This is it!" Alex yelled with glee. "Darkest Lariat!"

"Obstruct!" Piers shouted quickly, but the force of Incineroar's flailing attack provided enough momentum to slam the Normal type into the ground, creating a crater. Incineroar leaped away, skidding along the ground.

"He can't protect himself now!" Alex shouted as she spotted Obstagoon trying to stand. "Fire Fang!"

"Hit her with Facade!" Piers commanded.

Incineroar leaped, thrusting out his hips, huge fiery fangs erupting from his belt. They closed around Obstagoon in a brilliant flash of light, triggering a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, Incineroar stood over the fainted Obstagoon, right paw held high as he roared.

"Blimey," Piers slid down his mic pole. "That was exhilarating. I'm beat."

"Obstagoon is unable to battle, which means Alex moves onto the final round of the Preliminary battles!"

The crowd cheered and Alex swore she could hear Zeno's voice among them clearly.

_"What a fiery finish! With it being a close match, Alex manages to overcome the Gym Leader of Galar! Now the question we're all wondering is if she'll receive the Dark Badge for her trouble!"_

...

_"And we're here for today's highlights! With such ferocity and determination, all trainers have made their mark on the league!"_

The screen showed quick footage from the battles that I was sure the Rocket trio were proud of. There was Incineroar and Obstagoon in the air following the Blast Burn, Alain's Mega Charizard slamming a Pangoro into the ground, Ash's Pikachu taking down two Pokemon by himself, and many other shots from today's battles.

"We all made it," Ash said while grinning. "The final round of the Prelims! We just need to make it past that to make our mark."

Alex smirked at me. "Would be a shame if you were taken down before then."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Looks who's talking. Is Piers really that strong?"

Alex's smirk faded. "Yeah, he is. I'm still surprised I won. I do wonder if he's actually the best Gym Leader in Galar with the way he battles."

_"Now then,"_ the announcer's voice made us all immediately pay attention to the big screen, where the footage had just ended. _"To what you've all been waiting for! Tomorrow's final Preliminary Match-Ups!"_

The remaining 16 trainer cards began to shuffle, faster and faster, before finally coming to a stop in 8 pairs of two.

"Again?" Robert gnawed at the end of his pencil. "You know, with odds like these, you think one of you would end up with someone you know by now."

"I am," I was the 4th one to battle tomorrow, and my opponent-

"Kamake."

**Funny how I ended this chapter just like the last one eh? The Preliminary Battles will end soon, which means that our heroes will have to face one another sooner or later. Next chapter, **"A Calculating Force"**, Zeno faces off with Kamake of Team Radiance! Until then! Toodles!**


	65. Chapter 63: A Calculating Force

"Can I ask why you're here?" I sat on the far end of the bench Kamake was sitting on. I had found her here, overlooking the stadium, a quiet little piece of land with a couple of trees.

She regarded me with her usual calculating gaze, as one would at a particularly interesting science experiment. Finally, she lowered her digital notepad. "Eve requested I do so. She said I've spent too much time engrossed in my work. Called this a 'vacation'."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really now? Well, this vacation of yours will have to be cut short tomorrow."

Kamake half-smiled. "That is assuming you are able to beat me." She stood. "It is getting late. If you would excuse me." She began walking away towards I would assume the hotel before she stopped. I got up to see Alex in front of her, breathing heavy, indicating she had ran here.

"I want to know something," Alex said once she caught her breath. She stood taller and looked Kamake in the eyes. "Why did you release your Absol? Why do something like that?"

Kamake studied her for a moment before saying, "She was no longer compatible with me."

"No longer compatible," Alex spluttered as Kamake pushed past her. "How do you justify that as a reason to abandon your Pokemon!?"

Kamake didn't answer and for a moment I thought Alex was going to storm after her. However, she restrained herself, but was still clearly refusing. As I walked over to put a hand on her shoulder, she said in a barely controlled tone of anger, "Beat her, Zeno. Beat her thoroughly."

I didn't say anything to that, just stared at Kamake's retreating form. She was an oddity. Once having worked for my father, then for Team Radiance. Someone who didn't act normal and who I still couldn't fully understand.

After a minute, "Yeah, I'll beat her. Don't you worry."

"Good," I saw her fist tighten. "'Cause if you didn't, I would have to thrash her myself."

...

"And another overwhelming victory for Alain! His Charizard sure is something else!"

"Alain sure is strong," Ash commented as Alain walked off the field. "You say he beat your Lucario?"

I nodded. "Mind you, we weren't in the best of states then, but even if we were, I have a feeling Alain would still have won." I looked at Ash. "You two are proper rivals, right?"

"Uh huh," Ash confirmed. "I've only ever seen his Metagross and Charizard though. Greninja and I had Charizard on the ropes, but our synchronization wasn't strong enough then. But now," he grinned widely, closing his fist. "I think we could beat him."

"Better hurry up," Serena advised from where she sat next to Ash, looking at the screen. "You're battle is coming up after this next one."

"Oh yeah," I realized, standing. "Guess I'll be missing Clara's battle then." Alex grabbed my wrist as I passed her and gave me a knowing look. I nodded at her, giving her a small smile. She looked reassured at that and let me go.

I watched the remainder of Clara's battle when I got to the prep room, unsurprised when she claimed her victory. I stood, checking one final time on the Pokemon I had selected for this match. I had a general idea of what Kamake would use against me, but I couldn't be sure all the same.

_"And we welcome onto the field the mysterious Kamake and her opponent, a crowd-favorite, Zeno! For this particular match-up, they'll be battling on the Ice field!"_

_"Oh that doesn't bode well," _I thought, maybe detecting a hint of satisfaction from Kamake as the field was brought up. Ice jutted from the ground and the slick floor was going to make it harder to maneuver.

"Well then," I flicked the pokeball in the air before catching it. "I guess now's as good as a time as any. Lycanroc, let's show them your Alolan pride!"

The Dusk Form Lycanroc appeared on the ice in front of me, howling. He glanced back at me and I could feel his happiness at being with me once again.

"We're back in the league," I knelt, rubbing his head. "So do your best. We are up against someone familiar, so no need to hold back."

Lycanroc growled in agreement, taking his place, baring his fangs at the Glaceon Kamake had let out.

"Let the 4th match, begin!"

"Start off quick!" I ordered. "Accelerock!"

Lycanroc's paws left grooves in the ice where he leapt from, soaring across the ice towards Glaceon.

"Dig," Kamake said, not batting an eye.

Glaceon tore into the ground while Lycanroc slid to a stop, digging his claws into the ice to stop himself.

"Keep your guard u-!" I was in the middle of shouting as Kamake raised her hand.

"Icicle Spear!"

Several icicles shot from the hole Glaceon had dug, two of them managing to hit Lycanroc before he could get out of the way. He slid backwards, struggling to find solid footing.

"Blizzard," Kamake nodded towards the Rock type and Glaceon leaped out of her hole, blowing a fierce wind of snow and ice towards him.

"Sand Attack!" I yelled. "As much as you can!"

Lycanroc began smashing his paws into the ground, blowing up tons of sand, covering himself in the process just as the Blizzard hit. I watched him crouch, taking the Ice attack head on, the sand not doing a whole lot as I had hoped.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Fire Fang!" I shouted.

Lycanroc opened his maw, fire brewing within as he slammed them shut over the Shadow Ball, a small explosion occurring.

_"She's going to try and keep her distance,"_ I realized. "Lycanroc, close the distance with Accelerock!"

"Dig," Kamake said again and I had to hope for her to try that same strategy once again.

"Sand Attack into the hole!" I commanded.

Lycanroc slammed his feet into the ice, slowing to a stop as he began filling the hole with sand.

Kamake smirked. "Ice Beam."

Glaceon broke through the ground behind Lycanroc, shooting a beam of ice towards him. It slammed into his left side, freezing part of him.

_"Of course," _I winced at my own predictability._ "She knows about my unconventional fighting method. She baited me!" _Gritting my teeth, I shouted, "Rock Tomb!"

Lycanroc slammed both front paws on the ground, several boulders shooting towards Glaceon.

"Dig."

"You know, this is starting to get irritating," I slammed my fist into my open palm. "Brick Break on the ground! As hard as you can!"

Lycanroc leaped into the air, circling his body two whole revolutions before slamming his glowing tail on the ground, shattering the ice around him. The field reverberated slightly, making Glaceon emerge, slightly dizzy.

"Now's our chance," I thrust out my fist. "Accelerock and Brick Break!"

Lycanroc slammed into Glaceon before turning and slamming his tail into her, sending her skidding across the cracked ice where she came to a stop at Kamake's feet.

"Glaceon is unable to battle, which means Lycanroc is the winner!"

Lycanroc howled, returning to me, licking my face as I knelt to congratulate him. I laughed, trying to get him to stop. "Hey, hey now. We still have to finish the battle here boy."

He growled in agreement, taking his place again in front of me. Kamake met my eyes and I knew she was planning how to defeat me. She took her second pokeball, letting out her Weavile. "Night Slash!"

Weavile took off, practically sliding on the ice as she dodged the chunks of ice that rose around her, a long dark blade clutched in her hand.

"Stone Edge!" I shouted and Lycanroc howled, large stone rocks jutting out of the ground towards her.

"Dodge," Kamake said simply, Weavile sliding out of the way, then leaped onto an ice rock and launched herself towards Lycanroc.

"Brick Break!" I yelled.

Lycanroc flipped, slamming his tail into Weavile's blade and sparks flew. Both Pokemon bounced back from one another, before charging back in.

"Accelerock!"

"Foul Play!"

Both slammed into one another, Weavile's body shimmering and I saw what looked like a blood-soaked grin.

"Low Sweep," Kamake said and the newly revealed Zoroark swept Lycanroc's paws from beneath him, slamming him down onto his side. "Focus Blast!"

Lycanroc was blasted backwards from the point-blank attack, fainted.

_"A shocking reveal that turned the battle in Kamake's favor! Now the playing field has been evened!"_

"Return," I held out his pokeball, returning Lycanroc. "Get a good rest." I clicked it into place before switching in Corvisquire. "Thanks to your aerial mobility, the ice field won't prove to be a challenge!"

"Operation: Shattered Ice," Kamake said, tilting her head slightly. "Focus Blast."

"I spoke too soon," I gritted my teeth. "Brave Bird!"

Corvisquire flew up and circled downwards, soaring towards the Dark type as a blue glow surrounded him. Zoroark slammed a Focus Blast at the ice around her, flinging up hundreds of shattered pieces.

"Night Daze." Kamake instructed and Zoroark flung out her paws, a wave of darkness sending the shattered pieces of ice towards Corvisquire.

Too late to stop, Corvisquire's only option was to hope he could bear all the ice. The ice pelted him and the Night Daze blasted him back. He fluttered for a second before balancing himself. He flew higher, more wary now of the Dark type.

"Keep a safe distance," I told him. "And use Air Slash!"

Corvisquire flapped his wings, bursts of air slamming into Zoroark.

"Bring him closer with Extrasensory," Kamake ordered. "Then Night Slash."

Zoroark's eyes glowed and a psychic force began pulling Corvisquire towards her, a blade ready in her hand.

"Use Brave Bird to escape!" I commanded, but Corvisquire, try as he might, he was still getting pulled towards Zoroark. The Dark type grinned maliciously, darting forwards as she swung the blade. With a loud clanging sound, Corvisquire squawked and fell to the ground behind the Dark type. Zoroark looked confused and glanced back at the Flying type, then backed away as light began emanating from him. I stared as Corvisquire's body grew bigger, armor enveloping his body as his talons became razor-sharp.

"Corviiikniiigghhttt!" The Flying type cawed, fixing his red beady eyes on Zoroark.

"Focus Blast!" Kamake shouted and Zoroark drew back her hand, an orb beginning to form.

Corviknight spread his wings, blasting into the air as Zoroark fired the Focus Blast. The Flying and Steel type swung a glowing wing, slicing the attack in two.

I grinned. "Alright! Steel Wing one more time!"

Corviknight gave a battle caw and both wings glowed and he soared towards Zoroark. He slammed one side into the Dark type, sending her into the sky.

"Night Daze!" Kamake yelled.

"Dual Wingbeat!" I pumped my fist into the air and Corviknight blasted the darkness away before slamming his wings against Zoroark. She fell and smashed an ice rock, fainted.

"Zoroark is unable to battle, which means Corviknight wins!"

_"A excellent timed evolution saves Zeno from losing his second Pokemon and with the extra power that comes with evolving, Corviknight was able to successfully defeat Zoroark! Kamake is on her last Pokemon, but can she pull a fast one on her opponent and take the win!?"_

"We already know who her last Pokemon will be," I shouted to Corviknight, who surveyed the battlefield from high above. "Keep your guard up all the same!"

"Weavile," Kamake's final Pokemon was let out onto the battlefield. "Ice Shard!"

"Dodge," I commanded and Corviknight easily dodged the ice. "Now use Steel Wing!"

Corviknight's wings spread wider, glowing as he zoomed towards Weavile.

"Take the hit and use Revenge," Kamake ordered.

Corviknight slammed into Weavile, but the Ice type recovered quick and leaped into the air, slamming her whole body against the Flying type. Corviknight screeched in pain as Kamake yelled, "Triple Axel!"

Weavile slammed her foot into Corviknight's underside as she latched onto his wing, swinging herself onto his back while kicking him two more times, each hit more powerful than the first.

"Ice Shard!" Kamake shouted.

"Shake her off with Drill Peck!" I shouted. "High in the sky!"

Corviknight aimed his beak towards the blue sky above and began twisting his body, faster and faster, his beak glowing. He shot out of the stadium, Weavile, desperate to cling on, was finally flung off.

"Now finish her!" I roared.

Corviknight dived back down towards her, slamming his spinning beak into her middle, driving her into the ground. Ice shattered and flew into the air, a dust cloud obscuring both Pokemon. Corviknight flew out, his wings blowing away the dust to reveal that Weavile was out of the count.

"Weavile is unable to battle, which means Corviknight wins again! This also means Zeno will move onto the Quarter Finals!"

The crowd roared with delight as I ran my hand through my hair, grinning as my newly evolved Pokemon flew towards me. He was massive now, standing taller than me by two feet. I patted his armored breastplate.

"You sure are something aren't you?" I praised him. "I'm more confident than ever we can win the league. What do you say to that?"

Corviknight let out a loud metallic caw, rubbing the bottom of his beak against my hair affectionately.

"And Zeno moves onto the Quarter Finals! That concludes the first half of today's battles folks! We'll be taking a short break and then we'll be back for the remaining 4 battles!"

...

"Oh you did great," Alex hugged me tightly. Then, quieter, "Thanks for beating her for me."

"Anytime," I smiled, hugging her back before we parted. I glanced around at everyone gathered in their seats. "What did I miss?"

"Ash won his battle with ease," Serena said with pride. "And Alex is up last."

"I was just on my way out," she waved goodbye. "I'll see you all when I win!"

...

_"Now that the Preliminary battles have come to an end, we have a good roster of strong trainers aiming to become the winners of the Lumiose Conference! So, look to the screen for the Quarter Final match-ups!"_

"You guys are bound to face each other," Robert leaned forwards. "Come on..."

The screen flashed and the 4 battles were highlighted. Robert gasped and I raised an eyebrow. Glancing at Alex, I said, "You have an interesting battle tomorrow."

A boot came to rest on the back of Alex's seat as Clara leaned forwards. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy beating you blondie."

Alex turned in her seat. "I feel bad for Zeno. I think he was looking forward to beat his rival." She smirked. "Oh well, guess I can't help that."

"Um, Zeno," Robert prodded me. "Who's the old guy you're facing?"

I took another look at the screen. The face looked ancient and weathered, long white hair and a green scarf covering the bottom half of his face. To finish it off, he wore a red beanie.

"I don't know," I shook my head. "Looks a little old to be a regular Pokemon trainer though."

"Agreed," Robert stretched. "I have a good feeling about tomorrow's battles."

One last look and I confirmed that Ash and Alain were both facing different trainers. That meant they were both likely going to end up in the semifinals. And either Alex or Clara would be there as well.

_"Alright then,"_ I set my gaze, tightening my fist. _"After tomorrow, that's when the real battles begin!"_

**And the prelims have wrapped up! Next chapter, **"Rival's Path"**! A showdown between our heroine and Zeno's rival, Clara! Who do you believe will win!? Who do you wish to win!? Until then folks! Toodles!**


	66. Chapter 64: Rival's Path

_"Hey, I-"_

_"Congrats," her friend gave her a warm smile. "I saw it all on TV!"_

_"You-," Alex blinked. "You did?"_

_"Yep," he nodded, pulling himself up further on his bed. "The Alolan League was amazing! Your battles were thrilling to watch, especially that one against that Zeno guy." He laughed softly. "Shame you lost, but hey. You made it to the Quarter Finals! That's something to be proud of!"_

_He began coughing, nearly doubling over. Alex rushed over, but he held up his hand and gave a shaky thumbs-up. "It's okay, don't worry. I'm fine. I shouldn't be getting too excited like that, my bad."_

_Alex sat at the foot of the bed. "What have the doctors said about your condition?"_

_He shrugged. "They're still unsure what it is, but they are saying I'm getting better. At least I don't have to spend my time in the hospital and I can just stay here in my room."_

_Alex smiled sadly. "Were you mad when I left?"_

_He blinked. "No, of course not. I was happy for you, really." He nodded. "You wanted to get away from this place, I can understand that. I'm just surprised you came back so soon."_

_"So am I," Alex looked down. "Hartley... I think he holds a grudge. He knows I'm going to be leaving again. I tried making things right here, but I just can't..."_

_The boy leaned forwards. "Go then. Don't let yourself be held down or governed by what has happened here. You're your own person and you should follow your dream." He glanced sadly at an empty pokeball sitting on his desk. "I wish I could."_

_"And you will," Alex said, her voice filled with confidence. "I'm sure you will."_

_Chuckling, he said, "Alright, maybe I will. And when I do, I'll beat you in a battle." He stretched out one hand and spun the globe on his desk, pressing down his finger to stop it. "How about this region?"_

_"Huh?" Alex came over. "Which one is that?"_

_"Kalos," the sunlight peeking in through the opened window caught his hair, making the pale green color glow vibrant. "It's somewhere I've been thinking of going one day. Their Pokemon League is something to behold, not to mention the sights." He grinned at his friend. "Go, Alex. Follow your dream."_

...

"My dream," Alex thought as she walked along the platform, watching as Clara did the same on the opposite side. "Is it to get stronger? Or to follow Zeno?" She gripped the pokeball in her hand tightly as she came to a stop. "Whatever it is, I will defeat you here, Clara."

_"And we welcome our first Quarter Final contestants into the arena! Whoever wins this match will move on to the semifinals, where trainers will compete in full battles! But for now, it's the usual three!"_

The field rose from the depths of the stadium, latching into place. It seemed to be modeled after a plaza in Lumiose, complete with a cafe and other various buildings. A cobblestone street separated Clara and Alex, tables with umbrellas set up on the side.

_"And the first field of the day is the City Field! On one side we have the brutal brawler, Clara! And facing her, the girl with fiery determination, Alex! Who will stand victorious in the wake of what is expected to be a thrilling battle!?"_

"The announcer sure likes his job," Alex rolled her eyes, tossing her pokeball in the air. "But he ain't wrong! Pyroar, let's go!"

The Royal Pokemon shook his large mane and roared. Clara smirked, tossing her pokeball in the air. Barbaracle appeared in front of her and took up a fighting stance, claws extended towards the Fire type.

"Oh, well now we know Clara ain't playing around," Robert clapped his hands together excitedly. "Time for the long awaited catfight!"

"Ugh," I groaned, rubbing my head. "What is wrong with you?"

Ash leaned forwards in his seat. "Clara sure is strong. I might even have to face her myself."

"Roar!" Alex shouted and Pyroar let out a deafening roar, powerful enough to send Barbaracle back into his pokeball, another one opening and releasing Heliolisk.

"Alex is playing it smart, switching out her opponent's Pokemon so Clara wouldn't have the advantage."

"Have it your way," Clara shrugged, thrusting out her hand. "Electric Terrain!"

Energy crackled around Heliolisk's frills, electrifying the whole field.

"Don't let her hit you!" Alex shouted. "Flamethrower!"

Pyroar shot jets of flames towards Heliolisk, who didn't even move an inch as the fire engulfed him. When they died down, Heliolisk still stood, frills extended.

"Now then!" Clara shot her hand into the air. "Rising Voltage!"

The electric field crackled and the electricity shot upwards, blasting Pyroar with energy. He was left panting, wincing at the pain he just endured.

Alex gritted her teeth. "Overheat! Incinerate the field!"

"Don't let her!" Clara roared. "Thunder!"

A blast of electricity arced towards Pyroar as he unleashed a wave of fire around him, burning up the electric field. Then the blast hit him, causing him to roar in pain. He collapsed, fainted.

"Pyroar is unable to battle, which means Heliolisk is the winner!"

_"While the Electric Field was taken care of, Pyroar was still quickly taken out! They don't call Clara the Brutal Brawler for nothing!"_

"Dang," Alex returned Pyroar. "That was not how I wanted to start."

"Come on then," Clara called out. "Don't tell me your fire is all burned out?"

"Not even close," Alex let out Ninetales. "Bring him in close with Extrasensory!"

Ninetales' eyes glowed and psychic energy surrounded Heliolisk and pulled him in fast.

"Parabolic Charge!" Clara shouted.

"Not so fast!" Alex threw out her hand. "Fire Spin!"

A cyclone of fire swirled up around Heliolisk, damaging him and stopping the Electric attack.

"Now Fire Blast!" Alex roared.

As Heliolisk was brought within five feet, Ninetales shot a ball of fire, which exploded in front of the Electric type. It formed a fiery symbol before blasting Heliolisk into a table.

"Don't let up," Alex ordered. "Flamethrower!"

As Heliolisk made to stand, he was blasted backwards once more by the flames.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Dodge and use Quick Attack!" Alex commanded. "Finish her off!"

Ninetales leaped to the side and the Thunderbolt hit the road harmlessly. The Fire type then took off at a run, slamming into Heliolisk. He broke a chair and collapsed amongst it, fainted.

"Heliolisk is unable to battle, which means Ninetales is the winner!"

_"Once again fire prevails! But can she keep up the heat and finish off Clara's last two Pokemon!?"_

"Come back out, Barbaracle," Clara sent out the Water/Rock type. "Let's finish her!"

"Speed and distance is essential," Alex warned Ninetales. "Extrasensory her into the air!"

Barbaracle was flung skyward, but Clara shouted, "Muddy Water!"

Dirty water gushed around Barbaracle and he used it to surf to the ground safely and towards Ninetales.

"Jump onto a table and use Quick Attack!" Alex shouted quickly.

Ninetales leaped on a table, nearly knocking it over in the process, and used it to fuel her momentum as she slammed into Barbaracle.

"Bad move," Clara smirked. "Razor Shell!"

Barbaracle swung out his blade, slashing upwards. Ninetales spun in the air, droplets of water scattered around her.

"Inferno!" Alex roared.

Ninetales' eyes narrowed and before she landed, she blasted fire at Barbaracle's feet and a column of fire erupted around him.

"Get behind him and use Fire Blast!" Alex shouted.

Ninetales sped around and blasted Barbaracle with a Fire Blast as soon as the Inferno died away. The eyes on the palms of the Water type rolled to look at the Fire type and narrowed.

"Stone Edge!" Clara yelled.

Barbaracle slammed his foot on the ground, stones jutting out of the road towards Ninetales.

"Dodge and use Flamethrower!"

Ninetales jumped out of the way, breathing jets of flames towards her opponent.

"Slice through it with Razor Shell!" Clara commanded.

Barbaracle lumbered forwards, swinging down his water blade, cutting the stream of fire in two. He raised his arm, slicing downwards on Ninetales.

"Now's the perfect time," Alex smirked. "Dazzle him, my beautiful Pokemon!"

Light emanated from Ninetales, blasting Barbaracle into the sky.

"Extrasensory!" Alex slammed her fist into her palm. "Drive him into the ground!"

"Stone Edge!"

As soon as Barbaracle slammed into the ground, huge rock formations broke through the ground and slammed Ninetales into the air before crashing back to earth. She got to her feet, panting, but still unwilling to throw in the towel just yet. Barbaracle meanwhile,

"Barbaracle is unable to battle, which means Ninetales wins again!"

_"Who says type advantage is everything!? Ninetales proved that Fire vs. Water results in a fiery victory! However, one Pokemon left! But with the way things are going, things are looking in Alex's favor!"_

"Don't push yourself, Ninetales," Alex rubbed her Pokemon's head. "But that doesn't mean you should let them win."

She barked in agreement, returning to the battlefield where Scizor had just been let out.

Clara sighed, snapping her fingers. "Scizor, Bullet Punch!"

In a flash, Scizor was in front of Ninetales, repeatedly punching her with his pincers.

"Flamethrower!" Alex shouted.

"Air Slash!" Clara yelled.

Scizor leaped back, slashing both pincers down, sharp bursts of air blowing the fire into the sky.

"Double Hit!"

Scizor went in low, smashing his left pincer into Ninetale's side before leaping and smashing his leg into the same side. Ninetales cried out in pain as she was sent crashing into the side of a building.

"Finish her with Flash Cannon!" Clara ordered.

"Flamethrower!" Alex yelled, but twin beams of metallic light from Scizor's pincers was enough to faint her Fire type.

"Ninetales is unable to battle, which means Scizor is the winner!"

Alex threw out Absol. "Let's not waste a single moment! Let our power and bond grow as we go beyond evolution! Absol, Mega Evolve!"

"Fury Cutter!"

Just as Absol finished mega evolving, Scizor slammed a pincer into her size, sending her crashing along the already broken ground.

"Psycho Cut, quick!" Alex shouted.

Absol slashed her head, three blades of energy shooting towards the Bug type.

"Fury Cutter again!" Clara commanded.

Scizor braced himself, slashing through each attack while also taking the damage.

"Not good," Alex winced. "Night Slash!"

Absol unleashed a fierce dark wind and it battered against Scizor.

"Ignore it!" Clara ordered. "Fury Cutter!"

Scizor's eyes flashed and he cut through the darkness, slashing his pincer towards Absol's head.

"Detect!"

Absol's eyes glowed green as she dodged every strike Scizor threw her way.

"Now use Razor Wind!" Alex commanded.

Wind blew up around Absol, forcing Scizor back a step before it carried him into the sky.

"This is starting to get annoying," Clara growled. "Scizor, Bullet Punch!"

Scizor switched tactics and slammed into the ground, battering Absol in the side.

"Psycho Cut!" Alex yelled. "We can't miss!"

"Grab it!" Clara grinned.

Scizor's pincer closed around Absol's one horn, making her eyes go wide.

"Now Fury Cutter!" Clara shouted.

Scizor landed 3 solid hits before Absol was able to struggle free, slashing Scizor in the chest with Night Slash, making him fall to one knee.

"Don't give up," Clara gritted her teeth. "Fury Cutter!"

"Razor Wind!" Alex shouted. "Keep her away!"

"Fury Cutter into the ground!" Clara roared.

Scizor brought up both pincers, slamming them into the ground. The resulting shock wave ripped apart the Razor Wind, but Absol was already leaping towards him.

"Sucker Punch!" Alex pumped her fist.

She slammed her paw into Scizor's head and he crashed into the road headfirst, creating a groove. As he struggled to get to his feet, Alex breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, light burst from Scizor, a green hue of energy.

"Wha-!" Alex's eyes widened. "Absol, Night Slash!"

"X-Scissor!" Clara roared.

Scizor blasted forwards, pincers crossed. He cut through the dark wind, slamming into Absol. She cried out in pain as Scizor raised his leg, slamming it into her head before somersaulting over her, slamming a pincer into her back, and landed on his feet.

"Finish her!" Clara stomped her boot. "Fury Cutter!"

As Absol turned, Scizor was there. His yellow eyes glowed as his green aura strengthened, and he slashed downwards, driving Absol's head into the ground. Absol spread her paws, fighting to lift herself up, before she gave in and collapsed, her mega form fading away.

"Absol is unable to battle, which means Scizor has won! This also means Clara will be moving onto the semifinals!"

_"Unbelievable! Just like before, Scizor proves to be a master at taking down Mega Evolved Pokemon! It seems the Brutal Brawler will move upwards, securing herself a spot in the semifinals!"_

The crowd roared as Alex just stared, Absol unable to move from where she lay in the shattered cobblestone street of the battlefield. She gripped her fist tightly, then released it, her energy spent.

From the stands, I got up and left. Now outside, I looked around to see Alex entering the Hotel to get her Pokemon healed. I was prepared to run, but the huge screen placed outside the stadium indicated that I was due in the next couple of minutes.

"Alex," I whispered, then with deep regret, headed back inside the stadium.

...

"Thanks Nurse Joy," Alex said, smiling sadly before heading for a couch to sit on. Then she stopped, looking through the door into the call center. Making a decision, she headed into their and sat at a booth. Typing in a number, she waited a couple seconds before he picked up.

"Hey," the green-haired guy grinned, sitting up in his bed. "I watched the match. Tough break."

"Yeah," Alex said softly and echoed, "Tough break."

He brought his phone in closer, his image increasing in size. "You okay, Alex?"

"I... I don't know," Alex admitted. "I want to get stronger, strong enough to prove myself. But, I think I've been fooling myself with that."

He stayed silent for a minute, then asked "Alex, what is your dream?"

She opened her mouth, but what she had wanted to say wouldn't come out. Then it came to her. "The journey."

"The journey?"

"Yes," Alex breathed in. "With my friends and Pokemon. That's what I love. Battling is fun, but it doesn't quite compare to the actual journey itself."

"Then don't battle just for the sake of getting stronger or winning," her friend advised, smiling. "Do it so you can have fun."

Alex's smile widened. "I will!" She stood. "I should go watch the match now. My friend should be battling."

"Go on then," he laughed. "I'll be watching from here from the comfort of my bed."

"Oh, right," Alex said before she switched the call off. "Wally, thank you."

"Anytime," Wally grinned and then the screen went blank.

**The Quarter Finals have kicked off with Alex taken out of the running. Clara moves up to the Semifinals while Zeno heads off to face his own match in the QF. Next chapter, "The King's Sorrow," a tall homeless man faces off against Zeno! Toodles!**


	67. Chapter 65: The King's Sorrow

_"And we're back for the second round of the Quarter Finals! Entering the field now is the one who claims himself and his Greninja as the Kage-Shinobi! Zeno! And facing him is a mysterious giant by the name of AZ, who seems to have a cold dispassion towards his battles! Who will triumph in this battle!?"_

"Giant" was an understatement. This guy had to be over 3 meters!

I held up Mawile's pokeball. "At this point, we can't underestimate any of our opponents. So go all out!" I shouted, throwing the ball in the air, Mawile being released onto the rocky ground. It would seem our battlefield was going to be the water and rock field.

Within AZ's hand was a pokeball that seemed way too small for big hands such as his. He flicked his wrist and a Torkoal appeared on the other side of the river, white smoke billowing from his back.

"I want to know," AZ's voice, albeit speaking in a low tone, traveled easily to me. "What a 'trainer' is, you who destroyed the Ultimate Weapon."

I took a step back, eyes widening, before I regained my composure. Several theories sprung into my head, but I pushed them back for now. I didn't sense any hostility from this "AZ" character, but... I felt longing.

"Alright," I nodded. "Then we'll show you. Mawile, Fairy Wind!"

Mawile swung her arms, a fierce pink wind flying into Torkoal, battering him.

"Torkoal," AZ spoke. "Flamethrower."

The Fire type opened his mouth and breathed flames towards Mawile.

"Dodge," I commanded. "And use Stockpile!"

"Lava Plume," AZ's stood like a statue, only his mouth moving. A geyser of fire and lava gushed upwards from Torkoal, raining down towards Mawile.

"Into the water!" I shouted. "And Stockpile again!"

Mawile leaped into the river just in time as the fire rained down over her as she continued to boost her defenses. Then sharp stones flew towards her, battering her over and over and sending her out of the river.

"Stockpile one more time," I gritted my teeth. "Hang in there!"

"Lava Plume."

"Now, GO!" I yelled and Mawile took off at a run. She leaped into the water, making a huge splash around her, nullifying some of the attack. Then she proceeded towards Torkoal. "Use Spit Up!"

"Body Slam!" AZ's eyes had widened a bit, seeing his Pokemon was in trouble.

Torkoal leaped into the air, bearing down on Mawile as her back jaw jettisoned the contents of the Stockpile towards him. The attack collided with the Fire type, blasting him away and onto his back. His feet wriggled as he tried to right himself, but Mawile appeared next to him, punching him with a glowing fist. He skidded along the ground where he came to a rest at AZ's large boots, fainted.

"Torkoal is unable to battle, which means Mawile is the winner!"

AZ returned his Fire type, returning the pokeball into his battered coat. He then produced a second one and let out a Sigilyph. "Cosmic Power." Sigilyph shook his whole body, increasing his defenses.

"Crunch, let's go!" I shouted and Mawile leapt for Sigilyph.

"Psychic," AZ said quickly.

Sigilyph's one eye glowed as he flew to the side and Mawile was slammed backwards into the ground.

"Air Slash," AZ narrowed his eyes.

Sigilyph flapped his wings, the air slicing against Mawile.

"Sucker Punch!" I shouted. "Then Iron Head!"

Mawile struck the Psychic type in the middle before flipping upwards, swinging her back jaw down. Upon AZ's command, Mawile was halted with psychic and sent flying into the air.

"Slow your fall with Fairy Wind!" I yelled.

"Counter that with Air Slash," AZ smiled and I suddenly had a feeling that he was going to be an even harder opponent to win against now.

Sigilyph sliced the air, cutting the Fairy Wind up and Mawile slammed into the river. She floated to the surface, fainted.

"Mawile is unable to battle, which means Sigilyph wins!"

As I returned my Pokemon, AZ looked at me. "You, Zeno, you are a wonderful trainer. Show me more, please."

"Yeah, sure," I agreed, still not entirely sure of what to make of him. "Arcanine, come on out!" My partner Pokemon appeared on the battlefield and he let out a jet of flames into the sky, showing off to a now roaring crowd.

"Enough with the showing off," I ordered. "Arcanine, use Extreme Speed!"

Arcanine crouched and burst forwards, leaving behind an imprint of himself. His feet seemed not to touch the river as he zoomed over it and slammed into Sigilyph.

"Psychic!" AZ yelled.

"Not this time!" I pumped my fist. "Flame Wheel!"

As Arcanine was encased in psychic energy, the Fire type struggled, finally pulling himself into a fiery wheel and breaking through the Psychic. He slammed into Sigilyph, leaving scorch marks on his face. Arcanine landed several meters away, mouth ablaze.

"Go, Flamethrower!" I roared.

"Air Slash!" AZ yelled desperately, but the flames overcame Sigilyph, bathing him in fire. He dropped to the ground, fainted.

"Sigilyph is unable to battle, which means Arcanine wins!"

_"AZ is down to his last and strongest Pokemon thus far! The one that always beat his opponents in previous bouts! Can Zeno overcome that seemingly unbeatable strength!"_

"Golurk," AZ sent out the Ground/Ghost type, whose color was grey and the cracks along his body glowed green. "Bring out all your power for this fight!"

"Crunch!" I shouted. "Fast as you can!"

As Arcanine closed in on Golurk, AZ held out his hand. "Dynamic Punch!"

Air swirled around Golurk's drawn back fist as it glowed with orange energy. Arcanine was punched straight in the jaw, flung into the river. He got unsteadily to his feet, shaking his head, looking around in confusion.

"Now use Mega Punch!" AZ shouted. "Mach speed!"

Golurk's legs retracted upwards and blasted forwards, blue flames erupting from what acted as an engine. Fist aimed forwards, Arcanine was too confused to dodge and was slammed backwards again.

"Arcanine, get a hold of yourself!" I shouted, but Arcanine only shook his head, eyes unclear. Grimacing, I knew if I didn't act fast enough, Golurk would make quick work of my Pokemon.

"Shadow Punch!" AZ yelled.

Golurk held out both fists as he hovered midair, shadowy images of them shooting forwards towards Arcanine.

"Extreme Speed!" I shouted. "Arcanine!"

Arcanine shook his head and ran forwards, the shadow fists just grazing the top of him, making him skid along the ground. He shook his head again, eyes finally clear.

"Get out of there!" I ordered as Golurk returned, fist drawn back. Arcanine barely made it out of arm's reach, skidding so he was now facing his opponent. I grinned. "Back on track! Heat Wave!"

Arcanine slammed both paws forwards, waves of heat slamming into Golurk.

"Earthquake!" AZ rumbled.

Golurk's legs reappeared and he slammed them into the ground, the ground cracking and heaving. A section shot up, sending Arcanine into the sky.

"Flame Wheel!" I shouted. "Control your direction!"

Arcanine spun in the air, a flaming wheel that zoomed towards Golurk.

"Stop him with Dynamic Punch!" AZ bellowed, holding out his arm. Golurk swung his fist forwards. Their attacks connected, Golurk trying to hold Arcanine at bay.

"COME ON!" I roared. The flames flickered before intensifying, turning blue as the flames grew bigger and streaked behind Arcanine like jet flames. Golurk's feet crunched through the earth as he tried with all his might to hold the Fire type back. Then with a WHUMP and an explosion, Arcanine broke through. They were obscured by the resulting blast and when it all cleared, Golurk stood, only looking slightly battered. Arcanine meanwhile lay slumped on his side, fainted.

"Arcanine is unable to battle, which means Golurk wins!"

_"Truly a battle between two ferociously strong Pokemon, but Golurk still looks like he can still go another two rounds! Can Zeno overcome this dire situation!?"_

"Return," I held out his pokeball, the red beam sucking back inside. "Good job, buddy. Let us handle the rest." I looked back up at AZ. "I don't know who you really are, AZ. But I can tell you one thing." I smiled. "You're a strong and amazing trainer. So now, I know there's no need to hold back."

"Greninja!" I shouted and as soon as he was let out onto the battlefield, we began to sync. "Night Slash!"

Greninja formed two blades as he leaped past Golurk, the Ghost type falling to one knee. His top half then spun around, two fists made of shadows shooting towards Greninja.

"Dodge," I flicked my head to one side and Greninja flipped, spinning his body to avoid the attacks. "Water Shuriken!" As he landed, he flung two shurikens that slammed into Golurk, triggering an explosion. A fist emerged from it first, followed by the rest of Golurk body.

"Block it!" I commanded. "Water Pulse!"

Greninja stood his ground, holding off Golurk's glowing fist with the sphere made of water.

"Stronger," I said through gritted teeth, starting to feel the pressure of the attack myself. "Be stronger! C'mon!" Water surged around Greninja, red eyes flashing from within. It forced Golurk back as the liquid surged around Greninja, settling into his cloak and daggers. I thrust out my hand. "Water Shuriken!"

Greninja shot forwards, slashing Golurk across the chest with one of the larger shurikens and slammed the other one in his head.

"Dynamic Punch!" AZ roared.

"Dodge!" I shouted and Greninja leaped into the sky, multiplying more than a dozen times.

"Take them out with mach speed!" AZ shouted and Golurk took to the skies, flying into as many Greninja as he could.

"Onto his back!" I ordered and Greninja clung to his back. "Bring him to the ground!"

Both blades on his arm shot to his waiting hands, turning dark in color. He jabbed both into Golurk's back and he crashed chest first into the battlefield, Greninja leaping off safely.

"Golurk!" AZ's eyes were wide as he stared at his Pokemon struggling to get to his feet. No longer was he seemingly cold like at the beginning of the battle, but now he seemed to be fully invested in triumphing here. But alas, Golurk fell forwards, stirring a dust cloud as he fainted.

"Golurk is unable to battle, which means Greninja wins! This also means Zeno will be moving onto the Semifinals!"

The announcer was saying something as the crowd cheered. I wiped the sweat from my brow, walking forwards so I could clasp Greninja around the shoulder. "Great job, Greninja. We'll win this League yet."

"Grenin," he croaked in agreement and we both turned to face AZ who was now standing on the opposite side of the small river.

"Thank you very much for battling with me," he wore a smile now and it looked as if years had been erased from his features; a new man. "Now I finally feel free from all of my sorrow, the part of me that built the Ultimate Weapon."

It took me a couple seconds to register what he had just said, then suddenly light began pouring from the sky, shining down on AZ. Pink petals fluttered into the stadium, falling on the crowd of people watching and on the battlefield. As I looked into the sky, I could see a small figure descending, floating like a feather. As it drew closer, I could make out a flower.

AZ's whole body was shaking now as he tearfully gazed up at the small Pokemon floating down towards him. He held up both massive hands, gently cupping the bottom of the Floette. He brought the Pokemon closer to his face and he wept, falling to both knees as the Floette reached out with one hand, settling it on his forehead. Her body was white and blue, the flower red and black with three large petals and three smaller ones in-between them. She gave a small cry, smiling gently at AZ.

"Oh Floette," he sobbed, hands still shaking. "It's been 3000 years."

"3000-" I mouthed, then looked once more at AZ. A giant of 9 feet tall, long white hair and weathered features. This was him, the one Sandra spoke of back in Dendemille Town. The legend about that king wandering eternally in the hopes of finding his Floette once more, it was real.

I knelt on one knee. "AZ, you were that king from 3000 years ago?"

He nodded, smiling sadly as the remaining tears slid down his face. "Indeed, that was me. I had caused a terrible calamity. And thanks to you, it wasn't able to happen a second time. Thank you."

Floette turned to look at me, crying softly as she smiled. Greninja and I both nodded, recognizing that she had thanked us.

_"So you had to become a new man for her to return,"_ I smiled._ "A man no longer broken or held back by his dark past."_ I breathed softly as I stared at the two of them, still relishing their 3000 year reunion. _"I'm glad I was able to be a part of that."_

...

The last two battles of the Quarter Finals ended just as predicted. Ash won his and Alain dominated his opponent once more with just his Metagross and Charizard. Alain was the last to battle, leaving the arena as the announcer began talking.

"You okay," I grasped Alex's hand.

She nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just needed some time to rethink some things."

I squeezed her hand as the big screen turned on, showing the four people who had made it to the Semifinals. Ash, Alain, Clara, and I.

"You're going to win, Zeno," Alex gave me a confident smile. "I know you will."

I nodded as the cards flipped over, swirling around. "I will, don't worry. Greninja and I can't lose." I glanced at her. "I'll avenge your defeat."

She laughed at that and then with a chime, the match-ups had been decided. I looked behind me and met Clara's eyes. While Ash and Alain would have their long awaited rival battle, I had my own rival I had to beat.

"This is what I've been waiting for," Clara smirked. "Don't you dare hold anything back, Zeno."

"Never," I promised. "Not for a rival like yourself."

...

With Floette atop his shoulder, AZ looked down at the Lumiose Conference stadium, the moon shining high above. He smiled, gazing thoughtfully. Soft footsteps alerted Floette and she tugged on AZ's ear. He turned to see a dark-skinned woman standing there, dwarfed by his height. In the bare amount of light there to highlight her figure, the letters could still be read upon her black shirt. **"Dendemille Museum"**.

"It's been a while," she spoke, one hand resting on her hip.

"Sandra," AZ said softly and the two of them stood there facing one another, lit up by the light of the moon.

**Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday. Took that day to rest from writing. As cool as it would have been for Greninja and AZ's Floette to face off, I decided against it. But, the Quarter Finals are over and the Semifinals will be upon us soon! Zeno vs. Clara and Ash vs. Alain! Who do you expect or wish to win!? But before all that, we'll have a chapter where there will be no battles. An interlude of sorts. So, until then my lovely readers! Toodles!**


	68. Chapter 66: Exchange Between Rivals

"CONGRATS!" Jessie squeezed me hard, making breathing air hard to accomplish. "You made it to the Semifinals!"

"Good job kiddo," James pounded me on the back, laughing. "Always knew you could do it!"

"Just win this and you'll be well on your way to winning the Kalos League!" Meowth grinned widely.

"Yeah yeah," I smiled, happy to have these wonderful goofballs as my family. "Now, I see you went all out today."

It was the same day of my victory against AZ, the evening breeze pleasant to feel. The Rocket Trio, ahem, the Rocket 4, had decided to make a dinner to celebrate me advancing onto the Semifinals. I, having met them along the way, invited Ash and his friends, and even extended an invitation to Alain. So far he has yet to show up to the small plateau where the table had been set up with an amount of food that I was beginning to wonder where it all came from.

"Alright everyone," Preston knocked on the table to gather all our attention. "This evening we celebrate not only the Semifinalists success, but all those who've managed to make their mark!" I glanced at Alex, smiling. "So congratulations," Preston continued. "Dig in I guess. Be thankful this wasn't made by Jessie."

There was laughter going around at that, forced laughter from Jessie in particular. As we moved in for the food, we could hear Preston's strangled cries.

"So," Robert swallowed his food in one huge gulp. "Just what will come next if either of you defeat the league?"

Ash and I glanced at one another. I shrugged. "I guess I could enter the Kalos Champion's League and see if I can make my way to battle Diantha. Though I'm not sure if I would want to be a potential Champion just yet."

"I think I would," Ash leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't mind Kalos. It has cool places and amazing people and Pokemon. If I became Champion, I don't think I would mind just staying here. I mean, sure I'll still travel and I'll miss Mom in Pallet Town, but," he tickled Pikachu under the chin. "I think we could really stay in Kalos."

"Gren," his Greninja appeared at his side, nodding at his trainer's words. Then he glanced at the table and picked up a Poke Puff Serena had made for this occasion.

"Oh," Serena clapped her hands together. "Zeno, Alex, Robert, you should have your Pokemon try my Poke Puffs. Pokemon absolutely love them."

"Why not?" Alex shrugged. "Ninetales, come on over."

"Greninja, Arcanine," I looked back at the both of them already heading over. "Serena wants you guys to try something."

Greninja glanced at the Poke Puff Ash's Greninja held and picked the same one. I chuckled at that. "Can't be beaten by your rival now, eh?"

"Gren," Greninja nodded, cocking his head at his rival.

"It's funny," Ash shook his head, smiling. "Their instinctive rivalry, it makes sense now thanks to what Professor Sycamore told us."

"Told you what?" Alex and Serena both asked simultaneously.

Ash and I shared a glance, both of us smiling as we remembered to when Sycamore came up to us earlier after we were leaving the stadium.

...

_"_Merveilluex_," Sycamore held his arms out, a smile spread across his face. "Your battles are truly something to behold! And your Greninja have done so well." He looked at both Ash and I in turn. "May I see them?"_

_"Sure," Ash agreed, letting out his Greninja, and I followed suit. Both stood before the Professor, their colors contrasting one another._

_"Ah," Sycamore nodded at Ash's Greninja. "You, the one who kept running away, only wanting a trainer that understood you and could harness your true potential. I daresay you have accomplished that." He moved on to mine. "And you, one who was rejected by many, one destined to die one day. But look at you! You've done so well and have come this far! Death can't claim you just yet!"_

_"Actually," I placed my hand on Greninja's shoulder. "He did die." Seeing the look on Sycamore's face, I quickly added, "But he was brought back, thanks to Xerneas."_

_"Ah," Sycamore nodded, smiling warmly. "That is truly a _bénédiction_. And both of you have achieved something even I have never seen or heard of before. A bond like no other. I would say that if must have something to do with their family bonds."_

_"Family?" Ash and I were both confused._

_"Did I not tell the both of you?" Sycamore chuckled. "Oh dear, I meant to tell you two back in the beginning of your journeys." He placed both hands on our Greninjas heads. "These two, they're brothers. I don't know if that has anything to do with the potential they've both unleashed in your care, but I'm sure it must have something to do with it."_

_"Brothers," my eyes widened. "Greninja, you knew this didn't you?"_

_"Gren," Greninja rubbed the back of his head, looking sheepish._

_"Man, what a sibling rivalry you two have," Ash laughed, patting his Greninja on the back. "I guess it makes sense why you both aim to top one another every time we battle."_

_Both Greninjas glanced at one another and nodded, both raising a fist. Neither was expecting to lose when they would battle, which they were confident they would._

...

"We both have tough battles ahead of us," I said to Ash as we finished telling everyone what Sycamore had told us. "I expect you to meet me in the Finals when I win my match."

"You worry about your battle and I'll worry about mine," Ash grinned, Pikachu's cheeks sparking. "Because we sure won't lose now! We've come too far to lose now!"

"Speaking of your battles," Robert glanced around. "I can't help but notice two people didn't show up."

"Alain didn't seem interested," Ash folded his arms. "But I thought your friend Clara was coming?"

"She was here," I remembered her coming with us. I looked around, surprised that she was nowhere to be found. "I guess not..."

"Zeno," Alex said quietly as the conversation around us steered towards the earlier battles of the league. "Here." She passed me a small piece of paper and I read what was on it before nodding.

"Thanks," I told her and quietly left the table. No one noticed me leave as I headed up a path as tall lamps powered on overhead. The cool evening air felt nice as the sun was beginning to set. Everything was quiet around me and even the distant sound of chatter from my friends and family faded as the path sloped upwards towards a splitting point. Someone met me at the intersection, stopping to block the path ahead.

"Alain," I came to a stop, feet away from him.

"Zeno," he stayed quiet for a long moment, before saying, "I must apologize for what I said to you back in Laverre City. Your bond is not weak."

I just stared at him. Then, "Alain, who are you?"

He hesitated. "I... I'm just someone trying to do the right thing for someone I care about." He looked up to meet my gaze. "I don't expect you to believe or trust me. I need to become stronger, strong enough to win this league. I don't know what it is Lysandre plans, but I need him. He's the only one..."

I took a step towards him, making sure he could see my stern expression as I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Alain, I can see what you're trying to do. I respect that. But," I tightened my grip. "If you go too far, you won't come back. Tread lightly, or all that you hold dear will slip between your fingers."

I walked past him, then stopped again. "If you do manage to beat Ash, know that I will defeat you instead. I can promise you that much." I continued on my way, not looking back at him. Eventually, the cobblestone path lead me to another plateau overlooking the stadium. Clara sat on a bench that was turned to face the view, the wind casually flicking her black bangs across her face. Her expression was that of one who was staring forlornly into the past.

I sat at the opposite end of the bench, staring at the wonderful view. The sun had begun its descent, streaking the sky with painting-worthy colors. We both sat there in silence before Clara finally spoke.

"What was your first impression of me?" she asked, eyes still facing forwards.

I leaned backwards, thinking back to when I had first met her, battling a trainer so she could take his Tyranitar as her prize. "Selfish, rude, arrogant, and a bit demanding. Oh, and that mouth of yours."

She made a soft sound and after a moment I realized it was a chuckle. "I hope I changed since then."

"You did," I sat forwards, looking at her. "Clara, you have changed. You gave me your Pokemon to train for Arceus' sake! You were rightly angry when we dragged you into our troubles and I don't blame you for a second of that. But since then, you've helped us, you even went with us to Ultra Space when you had no reason to. Clara, I... I should be thanking you for helping us and travelling with us. You're not just my rival, you're my friend."

Clara closed her eyes, a single tear visible in the last rays of the sunset before it fell onto the grass without a sound. "Thank you," she breathed, reopening her blue eyes. "Thank you for always seeing the best in me, even when I couldn't."

She stood and finally looked at me for the first time since I had gotten here. She had a resolved look about her, face tight with determination. "Tomorrow we battle. I won't lose, Zeno. I'm going to prove just how strong I really am. I'll defeat you, then take the trophy as mine. I'll fight the Elite 4 and defeat Diantha herself! I will become Champion of this region."

I stood to face her. "And I won't lose to you either. Last time we fought you may have won, but this time, I will prevail."

Clara smirked and moved past me as the final rays peaked over the horizon. Then, softly, she said, "I respect you Zeno. Maybe more than that... Because of that, I won't lose."

I stared at her as she left down the path, the final light from the sun already fading away. "Clara Acord," I whispered. "You've come so far. I am blessed that your are not just my rival, but my friend as well."

...

_"Today marks the beginning of this League's Semifinals, two battles that will determine who the two trainers will be for the Kalos League Final! Already emerging onto the field are the first ones to battle today! We have Zeno, a mysterious foreigner with a special bond with his Greninja! And we have Clara, our designated Brutal Brawler who hails from the Lost Hotel! These are two very powerful trainers and who'll emerge as the victor can only be speculated upon!"_

With a large mechanical clunk, the field rose and latched into place. The forest field. The judge was already there, his hand now raised into the air. "The Semifinal battle between Zeno and Clara will now begin! You may use six Pokemon each! Pokemon may be substituted freely! As soon as one party's Pokemon are all unable to battle, the battle is over! Also, once once three of either party's Pokemon are unable to battle, there will be an interval so we can change the battlefield! Both of you, please call out your Pokemon!"

_"This is it," _I thought, hefting the pokeball into the sky. _"Our long awaited rematch! Don't you worry, Clara! We'll make sure to go all out!"_

"Now then, begin the battle!"

**And so the Semifinals begin! Next up, **"Rival's End"**, Zeno and Clara face off once more in a battle that will truly decide who the strongest of the two really is! So until then! Toodles!**


	69. Chapter 67: Rival's End

"Now then, begin the battle!"

"Chandelure," Clara thrust out her hand. "Will-O-Wisp!"

"Shadow Sneak!" I called out to my Mimikyu. "Don't let her hit you!"

Mimi dove into a puddle of shadows, snaking across the ground. She moved behind Chandelure, keeping herself in her opponent's blind spot.

"Now Shadow Ball!" I yelled.

Mimi leaped from the shadows, launching a Shadow Ball from her claw. It smashed into Chandelure from behind, making the Ghost type whirl around, only to see Mimi disappear again into the shadows.

"You're both Ghosts," Clara narrowed her eyes. "Sense for her!"

Chandelure began spinning rapidly, her ghostly aura spreading out around her.

"No time like the present!" I closed my fist. "Shadow Claw!"

"There! Shadow Ball!" Clara yelled and Chandelure spun around, blasting Mimi with the Ghost type attack. She crashed into a tree, the leaves falling around her. However, despite the head of her costume having gone limp, she looked unhurt.

Suddenly, I had an idea. "Into the trees!"

Mimi disappeared in a flash, hiding among the leaves.

"Burn it all down!" Clara shouted. "Inferno!"

A raging column of fire erupted around Chandelure, burning the trees and bushes. Mimi leaped from one tree to another, trying to avoid the fire while also staying out of sight.

"Blind her!" I commanded. "Dazzling Gleam!"

Mimi leaped from a burning branch above Chandelure, the light blasting Chandelure. "Follow up with Shadow Claw!" I yelled and huge claws raked against the Ghost/Fire type, flinging her away.

"Use that momentum and use Fire Spin!" Clara ordered and Chandelure spun even faster, flames shooting towards Mimi and circling around her. Chandelure slammed into a tree as Mimi flinched at the flames causing her damage.

The heat was beginning to become unbearable now, the flames roaring higher around the two Pokemon. Even I took a step back from the heat, watching as Mimi suffered within the blaze.

"Alright, enough," I held out her Pokeball. "Mimi, return!"

_"And Zeno is the first to recall his Pokemon! A good choice for the moment as the fire intensifies!"_

"What, can't take the heat?" Clara taunted.

"Not quite," I smirked, sending out Arcanine among the flames. "Arcanine, Flame Wheel!"

Arcanine howled, running forwards before curling into a wheel of fire. He zoomed through the flames, gaining speed and power.

"Take the hit!" Clara commanded and Chandelure took the Flame Wheel head on, bearing the explosion of fire that resulted. When the smoke had cleared, Chandelure's blue flames rose higher than before as Arcanine took a couple steps away.

_"Uh-oh! It looks like this Chandelure has the Flash Fire ability! Now she's even stronger than before!"_

"Inferno!" Clara roared and the column of fire blasted into existence around Arcanine. He roared in pain as the fire grew stronger.

"Extreme Speed!" I shouted quickly. "Straight through!"

Arcanine blasted forwards, his body phasing through Chandelure's own body.

"Now Crunch!" I ordered and Arcanine twisted his body around, clamping his jaws around the Ghost type.

"Fire Spin to shake him off!" Clara commanded.

"Thunder Fang!" I shouted.

Electricity sparked from Arcanine's maw and shot along Chandelure's body, temporarily stunning her.

"Finish her!" I pumped out my fist. "Play Rough!"

Arcanine slammed Chandelure into the ground, battering her with all four limbs and fangs. He slammed Chandelure into a burnt tree, snapping it like a twig. Chandelure spun away dizzily before collapsing.

"Chandelure is unable to battle, which means Arcanine wins!"

_"And the first Pokemon to go down is Chandelure, making the battle 6 to 5 in Zeno's favor!"_

Up on the big screen, Chandelure's picture faded out in the hexagonal shape. However, this battle wasn't even close to being over. In fact, it had just truly begun.

"Barbaracle, stand ready!" Clara sent out the Rock/Water type.

"Here we go again," I muttered. "Arcanine, give it everything you got! We both know not to underestimate them!"

Arcanine growled in agreement, crouching as the last of the fire died away, the forest that had once stood on the field now burnt to a crisp. Barbaracle took a couple steps forwards, feet crunching through the ash on the ground.

"Wash him away with Surf!" Clara ordered. "And use Rock Polish!"

Barbaracle slammed a hand into the ashes, a torrent of water cascading towards Arcanine.

"You're gonna have to tough through it," I grimaced. "Flare Blitz! As hot as you can!"

Fire surrounded Arcanine as he rushed forwards, the wave slamming against him. He struggled for a moment, the water quickly depriving him of his fire. Then, the fire erupted around Arcanine, blasting away the water. More surged in, slamming into Arcanine, but he held his ground where he stood, seemingly unaffected by the Surf.

_"It looks to me that Arcanine just used Burn Up! A clever move to get himself out of a tricky situation!"_

"Nice work buddy," I called out to him. "Extreme Speed!"

Arcanine blasted forwards, slamming into Barbaracle. Clara shook her head, shouting, "Razor Shell!" Barbaracle twisted around, swinging his blade with unusual speed, slashing Arcanine on his flank. Arcanine roared, sinking his fangs into Barbaracle's arm.

"Get him off with Stone Edge!" Clara commanded. "Then use Ancient Power!"

Barbaracle stomped on the ground, a giant stone slamming from the ground and into Arcanine's stomach, sending him up into the air. Fossils then began circling around him and he raised his arm, shooting them towards Arcanine.

"Flame Wheel!" I shouted. Arcanine spun himself into the wheel of fire, sending the fossils crashing to the ground.

"Water Gun!" Clara grinned. "Snipe him out of the air!"

Barbaracle shot several bursts of water, knocking Arcanine out of his Flame Wheel and he crashed to the ground. As he struggled to get to his feet, Barbaracle was there, aiming his Low Kick. It slammed into his side, sending him tumbling along the ashen ground.

"Don't let up for a second!" Clara ordered, slamming one foot forwards. "Stone Edge!"

"Flame Wheel!" I roared. "Straight into it! Let's GO!"

Arcanine heaved himself up, blazing forwards in a wheel of flames. Huge stones jutted from the ground, heading straight for Arcanine. One broke through the ground in front of Arcanine and he sped up it, speed increasing as he flew over the top of it.

"We've seen this before," Clara yelled. "Surf!"

Barbaracle swung his arm, directing the current of water to shoot upwards towards the fast descending Arcanine. It blasted against him, but the power of his flames was allowing him to cut through it.

Clara's eyes widened. "Razor Shell!"

Barbaracle side-stepped, slashing Arcanine away as he neared him. He crashed along the ground, barely able to get to his feet.

"Finish him," Clara said, nodding. "Fury Cutter."

Barbaracle began walking towards the struggling Arcanine, claws glowing green as they grew longer. Arcanine managed to stand, fixing Barbaracle with a glare. Then, the Rock type zoomed past him, slashing as he went, images of green streaks fading from the air. Arcanine fell forwards, stirring up the ash covered ground. Barbaracle straightened and began to walk back towards his trainer, when an orange aura blasted around Arcanine.

"This again," Clara growled. "Didn't work before and it won't now!"

"One last attack," I breathed in. "Arcanine, Reversal!"

Arcanine shot to his feet, turning to face Barbaracle, who readied two Razor Shells. They ran for one another. Just as they neared one another, I yelled, "Slide along the ground!" Arcanine obeyed, dropping to his stomach, tripping Barbaracle just as the Rock type was preparing a Low Kick. He slammed into the ground faces first and fainted. Arcanine roared, then collapsed as well.

"Arcanine and Barbaracle are both unable to battle!"

_"With an epic final stand, Arcanine manages to take down a Pokemon he would normally be super weak to! With both Pokemon having fainted, Zeno keeps his one Pokemon lead on his rival!"_

"Mimi, come back out," I said, bringing out the Ghost/Fairy once again.

"Bisharp, show them no mercy," Clara ordered as the Steel type clanged his blades together, staring menacingly at Mimi. "Night Slash!"

"Counter with Shadow Claw!" I yelled.

Mimi lunged, her shadowy claw clashing with Bisharp's blades. Then, he ducked and raked his blades upwards, slashing his opponent. Mimi cried in pain as she tumbled along the ground. Bisharp was merciless, already moving in for another attack

"Shadow Sneak!" I shouted. "Get out of there!"

"Oh no you don't!" Clara yelled. "Bisharp, Metal Sound on the ground!"

Bisharp clanged his arms close to the ground, the irritating noise spreading across the battlefield. Mimi cried as she appeared out of the shadows feet away from Bisharp.

"Now use Metal Claw!"

Bisharp slashed Mimi again and again before kicking her away. She struggled to stand, a shaking Shadow Claw emerging from beneath her disguise.

"Mimi!" I shouted, eyes widening. "Shadow Sneak!"

Mimi tried, but Bisharp was faster, slamming her into the ground. She lay there, fainted as Bisharp stepped away.

"Mimikyu is unable to battle, which means Bisharp wins!"

"Return," I sighed, sucking her back into her pokeball. "You did well, Mimi. Next time, next time." I flicked another pokeball in the air, sending out my third Pokemon. "Bisharp, let's show them the cultivation of our training!"

"Ah, there you are," Clara grinned. "Bisharp, let's see how far he's come! Metal Claw!"

"You too, Bisharp!" I ordered. "Metal Claw!"

Both Bisharps ran at each other, their blades clashing with loud clanging noises. A blade swung low, only to be blocked and countered with a strike coming from the side. Bisharp twisted his body, the blade striking against his side as he swung his leg up.

"Let's play dangerously," Clara smirked. "Guillotine!"

Her Bisharp leaped away from mine, his blades elongating to impossible lengths, glowing brightly.

"Don't get hit!" I yelled to my Bisharp. "Guillotine!"

_"This is certainly a dangerous game they're playing here folks! One false step and it's OVER!"_

The Bisharp's clashed once more, each blade pressed up against the other. They struggled for a minute, my Bisharp starting to lose his footing. Then, "Grab him!" Clara's Bisharp ducked and slammed himself into my Bisharp, clamping his arms around his middle. He ran before jumping and smashing his opponent into the ground. The Guillotine faded away as Clara's Bisharp raised his blade.

"Night Slash!" I yelled quickly and Bisharp raised both blades, trying to hold back the Guillotine. I heard a large CRACK and the Guillotine slashed against Bisharp, making him faint instantly.

"Zeno's Bisharp is unable to battle, which means Clara's Bisharps wins again!"

"And Clara takes back the advantage! Now it's 4 to 3 in the Brutal Brawler's favor! And because three of Zeno's Pokemon have been defeated, we will now change the battlefield!"

As I returned my Pokemon and Clara's Bisharp returned to his trainer's side, the burnt forest field lowered back down into the ground.

"They seem to like calling me the Brutal Brawler," Clara called over to me, shrugging. "I guess I don't mind it."

"It suits you," I nodded, smiling. "Though, I'm afraid this "Mysterious Foreigner" will have to defeat you. After all, I need to show that I can beat you this time."

"Heh," Clara shook her head, laughing as she smiled. "Zeno, you really are the best of rivals." She held up her fist as the new field rose. "I guess it's time for us to stop holding back."

"Yeah," I held up my pokeball as the rocky field latched into place. "I think it is." I pulled my arm back, launching the pokeball. "Let's go, Decidueye!" My Arrow Quill Pokemon appeared on the battlefield, brushing his wings of dust. He lifted his head, the eyes appearing beneath the shadow of his leaf hood narrowing.

"Let's make sure there's no escape," I thrust out my hand. "Spirit Shackle!"

Decidueye held up his left wing, drawing back a ghostly arrow, which shot towards Bisharp.

"Dodge it," Clara said and Bisharp leaped to one side. However, the arrow turned sharply and hit Bisharp's shadow. The Steel type fell to one knee in pain, a ghostly force surrounding him for a second before disappearing.

"That's the way to do it," I grinned. "Now Feather Dance!"

Decidueye ruffled his feathers before bending his knees and taking off to the sky. He soared towards Bisharp, dousing him in feathers, lowering his attack.

"Guillotine, quick!" Clara shouted. "While's he's close!"

Bisharp lunged forwards, swinging his large glowing blades. Decidueye hovered for him, the blades passing right through him.

"What!?" Clara took a step back, stunned.

"Simple misdirection," I smirked. "I never did tell you what his typings were. Decidueye, Phantom Force!"

Decidueye sank into a pool of shadows as Bisharp glanced around, blades at the ready.

"Ghost type then," Clara growled. "Bisharp, be ready with Night Slash!"

"NOW!" I shouted and Decidueye appeared from above, soaring downwards while surrounded by ghostly energy. He slammed into Bisharp, knocking the Steel type away.

"Night Slash!" Clara yelled and Bisharp lunged forwards, swinging his blades.

"Leaf Blade!" I grinned as Decidueye swung his arms up, blocking Bisharp's attack and moved in for his own. He slashed downwards and sideways, managing to get a couple hits in before Bisharp began blocking.

"Razor Leaf!" I shouted. "Get back over here!"

Decidueye flung dozens of sharp leaves, forcing Bisharp to retreat as Decidueye flew back towards me. He glanced at me and I nodded. "Prepare your attack." He cooed and turned to face Bisharp, spreading his wings as his body began to glow.

"Laser Focus!" Clara yelled. "Then use Night Slash!"

Bisharp narrowed his eyes, locking on Decidueye. Then he sprung forwards, dark blades growing longer.

"Take him out!" I shouted. "Sky Attack!"

Decidueye leaped into the sky and zoomed towards Bisharp. They collided with an explosion, Decidueye skidding out of it on both feet, brushing off dust on his feathers as Bisharp collapsed.

"Bisharp is unable to battle, which means Decidueye wins!"

_"It looks like to me you shouldn't underestimate Alolan Pokemon! Having the maneuverability of a Flying type but having the typing of Grass/Ghost makes for a dangerous combination!"_

"I'll admit, that caught me by surprise," Clara said, cracking her knuckles. "But now I know what to do." She held up a pokeball and sent out her Heliolisk. "Electric Terrain!"

"She's going to use that plan then," I narrowed my eyes as the field crackled with electricity. "Decidueye, Razor Leaf then Phantom Force!"

Decidueye shot a barrage of sharp leaves towards Heliolisk before disappearing into the shadows.

"Rising Voltage!" Clara shouted and the field exploded with electrical energy, incinerating the leaves before they reached Heliolisk.

"Leaf Blade!" I shouted. "Phantom style!"

Decidueye appeared behind Heliolisk, slashing his back before disappearing into the shadows before the Electric type could retaliate.

"Eerie Impulse," Clara set her gaze, determined. "Find him."

Heliolisk closed his eyes, frills open as electricity sparked around him. He ignored two consecutive attacks from the Grass type before blasting a spot to his left with Thunderbolt, striking Decidueye as he appeared from the Phantom Force. He was blasted backwards, slamming into a rock.

"Rising Voltage!" Clara roared and Decidueye cried out as the field exploded with energy, shocking him with insane power.

"Sucker Punch!" I shouted and Decidueye forced himself up and sprung forwards, swinging his wing.

"Quick Attack!"

Heliolisk ducked and kicked out, striking Decidueye in the middle.

"We've mostly been a attacking from a distance every time Heliolisk battled," Clara smirked. "Time for a change! Fire Punch!"

Heliolisk lunged for Decidueye, slamming a fiery fist into his face, blasting him back again. Decidueye stumbled, shaking his head as he tried to open his eyes, but couldn't.

"Now he's blinded!" Clara shouted. "Thunder Punch!"

Both of Heliolisk's fists sparked with electricity as he sprung forwards, punching Decidueye back again. He fell to one knee and I knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up as he continued to try and force his eyes open.

"Decidueye," I shouted, a plan forming. "Fly up and close your hood!"

Decidueye flew into the sky, closing his hood, completely blocking his vision.

"You can't escape from us up there!" Clara yelled. "Thunderbolt!"

"Dodge to the left!" I shouted and Decidueye flew that way, barely dodging the Thunderbolt. "You'll have to use your ears if your eyes fail you! And I'll be right here to help! Fly higher!"

Decidueye flew higher as another bolt of electricity streaked by. Then, a better idea sprung to mind.

"Decidueye," I grinned. "Spirit Shackle the battlefield, as much as you can!"

"What are you thinking!?" Clara seemed aghast. "That'll have no effect!"

Decidueye fired arrow after arrow rapid-fire style, each one striking the rocky surface of the battlefield. Soon, Heliolisk would have no choice but to run through them. Decidueye, tired from that, flew back down onto the battlefield, raising his head in defiance.

"Fire Punch!" Clara shouted. "Let's finish him!"

Heliolisk ran for Decidueye, this next attack for sure to finish the job. As he ran, he passed straight through the arrows planted in the ground, not bothering with them at all.

"You can sense them can't you as a Ghost!" I thrust out my hand. "That's all you need! Leaf Storm!"

Decidueye knelt, thrusting both wings outwards. A storm of leaves shot forwards, battering against Heliolisk and sending him crashing along the ground through more of the arrows.

"Leaf Blade!" I shouted and Decidueye ran forwards, slashing Heliolisk as he tried to stand.

"Rising Voltage!" Clara roared.

"Brave Bird!" I shouted.

Decidueye blasted forwards, a blue aura surrounding him. Heliolisk's frills shot open and the field began to spark before exploding. When the dust settled, Decidueye lay fainted behind Heliolisk, all the arrows sticking out of the ground fading away as the Electric type still stood.

"Decidueye is unable to battle, which means Heliolisk wi-!"

Heliolisk let out a cry of pain, then collapsed, cutting off the judge's words.

_"And both Pokemon are unable to battle! That means both Clara and Zeno are on equal terms with only two Pokemon left each! This battle seems like it can either way at this point!"_

"Clever trick," Clara looked happily surprised. "But tricks like that won't save you all the time." She opened her fifth pokeball, releasing a Pokemon I had never seen her use before.

"Alright Druddigon," Clara said as the Dragon type roared. "Let's unleash your raw power!"

"Mawile, let's go," I called her out. "Fairy against Dragon. Looks like we have the advantage, so let's go first! Fairy Wind!"

Mawile swung her arm, a pink wind blasting towards Druddigon.

"Use Dig to dodge!" Clara commanded her Druddigon and he tore into the earth, disappearing beneath the ground.

"Keep an eye out for him!" I shouted, but just as Mawile glanced around, the earth cracked beneath her feet and Druddigon reared up, knocking Mawile into the air.

"Metal Claw!" Clara shouted and Druddigon slashed Mawile in the middle, slamming her into a rock.

"Iron Head on the rock!" I shouted. "And use Fairy Wind!"

Mawile slammed her back jaw back into the rock she had slammed into and broke it completely. The Fairy Wind then swept up the shattered pieces and they battered against Druddigon.

"Now use Play Rough!" I commanded Mawile. She lunged for Druddigon, kicking, biting, and punching.

"Slam her to the ground with Superpower!" Clara roared. Druddigon roared alongside her, a powerful reddish-orange aura surrounding him as he grabbed Mawile with one clawed hand and slammed her into the ground. The earth cracked, Mawile gasping at the sudden pain.

"Now use Iron Head!" Clara ordered and Druddigon slammed his head into Mawile, breaking the earth beneath her further. "Again!"

"Iron Head!" I shouted desperately. Mawile swung her head to meet Druddigon's, but hers was weaker compared to his and flinched at the attack. However, the damage did make an impact as Druddigon took a step backwards, shaking his head.

"Now Fairy Wind!" I shouted.

Mawile blasted her opponent with the wind and leaped out of the hole. She jumped back a couple more feet, keeping her distance.

"Don't let her escape!" Clara commanded. "Metal Claw!"

Druddigon lumbered after Mawile, swinging his razor sharp claws. Mawile was managing to dodge each attack, but I noticed Druddigon was trying to drive her into a corner in between a couple big rocks.

"Forwards!" I shouted. "Power-Up Punch!"

Mawile caught Druddigon by surprise, landing a solid punch in his middle. Mawile seemed to wince as her fist scraped against his scales, but ignored it and leaped above the Dragon type.

"Iron Head!" I yelled.

"You too Druddigon!" Clara shouted.

Mawile swung down her back jaw, slamming against Druddigon's head, both attacks evenly powerful now. Mawile leaped back and ran in again, this time striking all over his body. She managed to push him back several feet before he struck her with Metal Claw. She tumbled through the dirt and leapt to her feet.

"Play Rough!" I shouted.

"Superpower!" Clara roared. "Crush her!"

As Mawile leaped, Druddigon closed his arms around her, squeezing her in a super powerful hug. She cried out as he squeezed harder.

"C'mon!" I shouted. "Your back jaw!"

Her back jaw swung up, latching onto his arm, making him cry out in pain as his grip relaxed slightly. She took advantage of that moment and swung herself up, kicking Druddigon in the face. Her back jaw let go of his arm as she swung towards him, punching him in the chest and slamming her head into his chin. With one final flip and a back jaw against his forehead, Druddigon collapsed, unable to battle on any further.

"Druddigon is unable to battle, which means Mawile wins!"

_"A brutal brawl that ends in Druddigon's defeat means Zeno is back in the lead. But even with Clara on her last Pokemon, we can't help but think this is a bad thing for Zeno! If her last Pokemon is what we think it is, Zeno is in for a lot of trouble! Can he persevere!?"_

"He's right you know," Clara returned Druddigon. "This is where you fall Zeno, no question about it. Now then, my rival," She held up her last pokeball. "Time to show you all what we've learned throughout our journey! Scizor, let's destroy them!"

Scizor appeared on the battlefield, clanging his metal pincers together. He glared at Mawile, crouching slightly.

"Mawile," I said. "Fairy Wind!"

"Blast right through it!" Clara roared. "Bullet Punch!"

Scizor ran forwards, punching the air and blasting the pink wind apart. Once he reached Mawile, he began battering her with Bullet Punch, slamming her backwards.

"Now Fury Cutter!"

Scizor raised one pincer, slamming it on her head before swinging his other pincer, catching her in the middle and sent her crashing at my feet.

As I knelt to return her, the judge called out, "Mawile is unable to battle, which means Scizor wins!"

_"AMAZING! Once again Scizor proves why he is an unstoppable force of raw strength! Now Zeno is on his last Pokemon as well! Does he have any possible hope at winning!?"_

"Clara," I nodded at her, smiling. "I have no intention of losing here. I said I would come at you with all I got, so I will." I threw my last Pokemon out and he slammed a fist into the ground as his gaze met Scizor's. "Me and Lucario will beat you!"

Clara's grin grew wider. "Now that's what I'm talking about." She held up her hand, motioning for us to come at her. "Bring it!"

I sucked in a breath, then released it as I unhooked my knife and flipped it into the air. I caught it, hilt facing forwards. I pressed my thumb against the Keystone, light connecting me and Lucario. "Our fighting spirit will never diminish, our bond never wavering." Lucario raised his fists as the light enveloped him, making his body grow taller, his head appendages floating in the power of his aura. "Your past is forgiven and your future awaits with blinding light. So then, Lucario! Let your aura blaze and Mega Evolve!"

Alain sat forwards in his seat, eager to see just how much Lucario had improved since their battle. Ash grinned widely, anticipating the fight to come while Alex clasped her hands together, praying for Zeno's success.

Lucario howled, the light bursting away as the Mega Symbol burned in the air for a second before being whisked away by the wind. Lucario slammed his fists together, each one glowing brightly. He blasted forwards, appearing above Scizor, slamming a fist downwards. Then, Scizor's pincer swung up, catching the fist in mid-air, stopping the attack. He swung Lucario away who landed on both feet, growling.

"He's definitely strong," Clara nodded appreciatively. "But we can be so much stronger." She reached into her pocket, producing a chain necklace and let it drop while holding it from the top. A small metal object in the shape of Scizor's pincer hung from it, within its grasp a small orb. Clara flicked the chain up, fingers curling around the orb as it swung up. "Scizor, find your true power within!" Light burst from the orb and connected to a small orb on the very tip of Scizor's middle antenna. "Our courage, our determination, our strength! Push it all to the limits and Mega Evolve!"

Light enveloped Scizor before blasting away. His pincers had now become sharper with teeth-like objects and his body had become more straight with sharp edges. He opened and closed his pincers, making loud scissor noises with them.

_"This is unexpected! Scizor has now Mega Evolved, which means his power has just increased by an insane amount! If he was strong enough to take down Mega Evolved Pokemon before, what chance does Lucario stand!?"_

"This fight will take all we have to win," I warned Lucario. "Don't hold back, not for one second. We both know what we're up against." Lucario growled in agreement, his aura flaring around him. "Now then, Bone Rush!"

Lucario immediately formed two bones and rushed forwards, swinging one low while bringing the other one down in an arc. Scizor disappeared, appearing in front of Lucario, bashing him with furiously fast punches. Lucario took a couple steps back before rushing in with his Bullet Punches. Their fists were so fast it was impossible to see them. After ten seconds of this, both of their heads snapped back and they leaped away from each other. Just as quick, Scizor rushed back in, swinging his glowing pincers. Lucario slammed both fists into the ground, his aura pushing his opponent back.

Scizor skidded along the ground, his razor sharp feet scratching grooves in the earth. His wings fluttered and he slammed both pincers together, slicing the air towards Lucario, blowing away his aura. Lucario leaped back again, right foot being set ablaze. Scizor's wings fluttered more rapidly now, dark clouds forming overhead as rain began pouring down. Lucario blasted forwards, twisting his body to slam his fiery foot into Scizor's side. The Bug type manipulated the air, blowing out Lucario's weakened fire and his foot slammed into Scizor with less power. He then grabbed Lucario's ankle and crunched down, swinging him up and slammed him into the ground, splashing up mud.

Lucario slammed both elbows into the mud, heaving Scizor into the air. His opponent buzzed his wings, forcing Lucario to lift with all his strength. Finally, he managed to toss Scizor into the air and Lucario took that opportunity to scrambled back and onto his feet. Scizor landed back on the ground, eyes narrowing. He swung himself forwards like a living weapon, swinging his legs and snapping his pincers. Lucario formed one long bone, trying to block each attack. When he tried to blast Scizor away with his aura, Scizor responded by blowing it away with Air Slash. Finally, Scizor slammed a pincer into Lucario's stomach, knocking him ten feet away, skidding through the mud.

Scizor ran for him, pincers crossed and glowing green. Lucario formed a sphere of energy, blasting it as Scizor, but he simply shrugged it off and slammed into him. He then struck Lucario over and over with Fury Cutter, wearing the Fighting type down. Lucario drew back his head, blasting Scizor a couple feet back with Dragon Pulse. He formed another long bone, planting it in the ground and using to swing around it, gaining momentum. He used that and slammed himself into Scizor, blasting him with punches and kicks.

With a blast of metallic energy, Lucario was blasted off of Scizor and crashed into the mud again. Scizor got to his feet as the rain began to peter away. With a chance in sight, Lucario's foot set ablaze and he lunged forwards, swinging his foot. He managed to slam it into Scizor, but he quickly countered with Air Slash and Double Hit, making Lucario stumbled backwards. Then he did another Rain Dance, bringing back the rain.

_"We can't do much against her," _I thought, seeing for myself just how powerful her Scizor had gotten. Lucario was getting weaker much faster than his opponent and it was showing. We need to be able to get in a couple of Blaze Kicks, that might be the only way to beat Scizor, but with Rain Dance in effect, it won't do much. "Lucario, Extreme Speed!"

Lucario sprang forwards, battering Scizor with a flurry of kicks and punches. Scizor responded with Bullet Punch, kicking Lucario away. A wave of aura blasted towards him and he sliced through with Air Slash, forcing away the rain for a moment.

"That's it," I realized, then set my gaze. "Lucario! Channel your aura!"

Lucario's head appendages rose into the air as his aura thickened around him, forming some sort of shield. Scizor punched it, repelled. He struck again and again, trying to force his way through. With each strike, he got a little closer.

"Not yet!" I shouted. "Hold it!"

"Fury Cutter!" Clara yelled. "Finish him!"

Each strike with his pincer made the attack stronger and he began tearing through the aura. Then finally, Lucario let it all go, blasting the aura across the whole stadium, literally knocking the hats off of the audience. Scizor flew backwards, stopping himself on all fours in the mud. Above them, the rain clouds were blown away, the rain stopping immediately.

"Now!" I yelled. "Blaze Kick!"

Lucario slid his right foot back, setting it ablaze. He ran forwards, leaping into the air. He twirled, bring it crashing down on Scizor. The Bug type knocked him away, his armor singed. He tried to muster up another Rain Dance, but Lucario slammed a bone into his back, bending his wings. Scizor cried out, then his eyes blazed with fury. He lunged, grabbing both of Lucario's arms, crunching down tightly. Lucario howled in pain, kicking Scizor furiously until he was set free.

Lucario leaped back, trying to raise his arms, but he couldn't lift them that high. He was breathing heavily now, Scizor advancing on him with the intent of finishing him off. Lucario knelt on one knee, breathing in slowly as he closed his eyes. His aura began swirling around him and blasted outwards, but Scizor slashed it apart, springing forwards. Lucario lifted his head with a growl, swinging his body up and slamming his foot into Scizor's chin. Lucario leaped away, sliding one foot back in the mud as far as it would go.

I breathed out, matching Lucario's breathing rate. I could feel his aura pulsing around us. "Blaze." Lucario's foot burst into flames and he rocketed forwards. He swung into Scizor's right, who sliced the air. Lucario swung his foot in an arc to avoid the Air Slash, bringing it crashing down towards Scizor's head.

"KICK!" I roared as Scizor raised both pincers, trying to hold him back with X-Scissor as his foot slammed into him. Lucario howled, the flames growing bigger and hotter, turning a flaming blue as the tips of the fire sharpened in intensity. Scizor's feat dug into the mud as he forced himself to stay upright. With a burst of a fiery explosion, Scizor's hold broke and Lucario's foot slammed down into his head. The explosion rocked the stadium, blasting smoke high up into the sky.

As it began to clear, Lucario was revealed, having fallen to his knees and having reverted back to his regular form. Scizor rose from the fading smoke, turning towards Lucario. His eyes flashed as he drew back a pincer, a green aura surrounding it. He swung it in an arc towards his head, then stopped right above it, the aura fading. Scizor's body creaked and groaned as he tried to force his pincer down, but his wobbling legs gave way and he fell forwards, collapsing to Lucario's right.

The crowd roared with cheers and shouts. The judge's and announcer's voices were drowned out by the noise as Lucario stood on shaky legs. I trudged through the mud towards him, wrapping him in a hug, careful not to touch his arms.

"That was amazing," I breathed. "You did so well." Lucario hrred contently and let his chin settle on my shoulder. I pulled out his pokeball and held it up. "Get a good rest, you've earned it." Once he was returned, I stood to face Clara, who had made her way over. She knelt and lifted up Scizor, who had returned back to normal, and lifted his pincer over her shoulder. She raised her gaze to meet mine.

"That was an amazing battle," she said, giving me a sad smile. "Thank you for being my rival, Zeno. No, thank you for being my friend." She turned without letting me say a word and began trudging back through the mud, not bothering to return Scizor. Then, "Win the league, Zeno. I expect you to do that much at least." Then she left, not even once faltering under her Pokemon's weight.

**Super long chapter with an epic finale to Zeno's and Clara's long awaited rematch. Zeno moves onto the Final Round, but not before Ash and Alain have to face off. Next chapter, **"Clash of Wills"**, where Ash and Alain's battle is redone from the anime in my signature writing style and hopefully unique approach. Would you believe me if I said even I didn't know who's going to win this battle? So, until then! Toodles!**


	70. Chapter 68: Clash of Wills

"The Semifinal battle between Ash and Alain will now begin! You may use six Pokemon each! Pokemon may be substituted freely! As soon as one party's Pokemon are all unable to battle, the battle is over! Also, once once three of either party's Pokemon are unable to battle, there will be an interval so we can change the battlefield! Both of you, please call out your Pokemon!"

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash thrust out his hand, Pikachu leaping off of it and onto the battlefield, his cheeks sparking.

"Come out, Tyranitar!" Alain threw the pokeball into the air, the huge Rock/Dark type crashing onto the water and rock field. A huge sandstorm spun into existence around him, engulfing the battlefield.

Ash closed one eye, wincing. "This needs to be taken care of first."

"Now then, begin the battle!"

"Let's go, Alain," Ash grinned, determined to win.

"Come at us," Alain grinned back, already feeling the energy Ash seemed to radiate. "Dark Pulse!"

Tyranitar swung his head forwards, blasting a dark beam of energy towards Pikachu.

"Dodge, Pikachu!" Ash shouted and Pikachu leaped into the air. "Iron Tail on the water!"

Pikachu's tail glowed and he swung down, crashing it into the stream, splashing up a ton of water. It rained back down onto the field, erasing the sandstorm.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaachuuuu!" Pikachu blasted Tyranitar with electricity, who had been doused with the water. He roared in pain as Alain nodded appreciatively.

"Not bad," he said.

"That's not all we got!" Ash swung a fist. "Electro Ball!"

"Stone Edge!" Alain yelled.

Tyranitar slammed a fist into the earth, huge stones jutting out of the ground, blocking the Electro Ball.

"Swing your tail!" Alain ordered and Tyranitar whirled around, slamming his tail into the rocks. The shattered pieces flew towards Pikachu, but he leaped back in the air, deflecting them all back at the Rock type with Iron Tail.

"Go for where he'll land!" Alain thrust out his hand. "Crunch!"

Tyranitar ran forwards, lunging towards where Pikachu was about to land back on the ground.

"Iron Tail!" Ash shouted and Pikachu swung his tail, Tyranitar catching it in his mouth. He spun his body around swinging Pikachu around before flinging him into the air.

"Now!" Ash pumped his fist. "Electro Ball!"

Pikachu spun midair, using the momentum from when Tyranitar threw him to charge his attack. "Pika-chabang!" The ball of electricity crashed into the Rock type, an explosion triggering. When the dust cleared, Tyranitar lay on his back, fainted.

"Tyranitar is unable to battle, which means Pikachu wins!"

_"An astonishing match! A Pikachu managed to triumph over a Tyranitar!"_

"That's insane," Robert breathed next to me. "How quick did Pikachu, an Electric type, just take down a Rock type!? That's just-"

"Ash," I leaned forwards in my seat. "That's just Ash. His Pikachu is on a whole other level compared to many Pokemon."

"But can he still win?" Alex brought up that question. "I mean, Alain has so far dominated the league with only two Pokemon."

"He can," Serena said firmly. "I know he can. Ash can win."

Back on the battlefield, Ash knelt as Pikachu ran back to him. "Good job, Pikachu. Take a rest." He stood back up, throwing out his second Pokemon. "Noivern, I choose you!"

Alain smiled as he held up a pokeball. "This is the sensation I've been waiting for. Go, Weavile!"

"Boomburst, let's go!" Ash shouted and Noivern soared into the sky, blasting sonic waves down at Weavile from his ears. At Alain's command, Weavile threw up a barrier, blocking the attack.

"That's our opening," Ash called to his Pokemon. "Sonic Attack!"

"Weavile, use Ice Beam to counter it!" Alain shouted.

Weavile leaped onto the rocky hill, blasting the Sonic Attack with Ice Beam, then aiming the Ice attack towards Noivern. The Dragon type flew upwards, avoiding the Ice Beam.

"Boomburst again!" Ash shouted and Noivern blasted the hill, but when the dust cleared, there were a dozen Weaviles.

"Use your sonic waves to find the real one!" Ash commanded and Noivern closed his eyes before soaring to the one nearest to the top, huge draconic claws forming on both wings.

"Night Slash!" Alain yelled and Weavile lunged to meet Noivern, twisting her body to avoid the Dragon Claws and sliced along his left wing. "Now Ice Beam!"

"Dodge!" Ash shouted quickly, but Noivern barely had time to turn his body to the right before part of his left wing was encased in ice. He cried out and crashed down to the ground in a plume of dust. He lifted himself up, trying to get back into the air, but flinched when his left wing wouldn't work properly.

"Night Slash!" Alain thrust out his hand towards the Dragon type. A long dark blade formed in Weavile's hand as she ran towards Noivern.

"Hit her with Boomburst!" Ash shouted, but Weavile managed to avoid most of the attack, continuing on her direct path to Noivern, leaping over the river in the middle of the battlefield.

"Acrobatics!" Ash roared and Noivern twisted his body, avoiding the downwards slash from Weavile, slamming his tail into her middle. She was flung backwards into the river and Noivern ran forwards, abandoning any attempts to fly, huge claws appearing on both wings. Weavile burst from the river, blasting the Dragon type head-on with an Ice Beam, sending him sprawling backwards. When he didn't get back up, Ash tilted his hat a little as Hawlucha appeared out of his pokeball on his own. The second Flying type ran up to his friend, eyes narrowing as Ash returned Noivern. Hawlucha tightened both fists as he turned to face Weavile, who stood dripping on his side of the river.

"Let's make sure Noivern didn't go down for nothing, Hawlucha," Ash said with confident determination. "Karate Chop!"

As Hawlucha lunged towards his opponent, both his arms began to glow. He began chopping at Weavile, who was just barely managing to dodge each strike. As both Pokemon splashed into the river, Alain shouted, "Ice Beam on the water!"

The river froze instantly and Hawlucha nearly slipped on the ice before righting himself. Weavile sprung at him, slashing him with her blade two times. The third slash made him fly backwards, crashing into a rock. Weavile smirked, then her eyes widened as Hawlucha was revealed to still be standing, body now warmed up for the fight ahead of him.

"Hawlucha gets pumped when he takes hits from his opponents," Ash grinned, straightening his hat as he met Alain's gaze. "Now it's _our _turn to take the offensive!"

"Bring it on," Alain swung his arm. "Night Slash!"

Weavile sprung at Hawlucha again, aiming for a strike from above.

"Grab her!" Ash shouted and Hawlucha leaped into the air, twisting his legs around her neck. He swung her downwards and spread his wings. "Flying Press!" He slammed his chest into Weavile, pressing her into the ground. When he got back up, Weavile had fainted.

"Weavile is unable to battle, which means Hawlucha wins!"

"Haw-lucha!" Hawlucha cried, flexing his muscles to the roaring crowd.

_"Hawlucha has avenged his fallen comrade by taking out Alain's second Pokemon! What will he do now!?"_

Alain tucked Weavile's pokeball away before picking out his next one. Before he threw it, he smiled. "You make me forget time. I want to enjoy this without having to think of anything else, for just a little bit longer." He tossed the ball up into the air, releasing a Flying type. "Go, Unfezant!"

...

Holding the small view screen in both hands, a young girl with spiky maroon hair poking out from beneath her green hat gazed at it with a expression of worry. A small smile appeared on her face as she saw Alain smile without a care in the world, fully immersed in his Semifinal battle.

...

"Sky Attack!"

Unfezant slammed himself into Hawlucha's middle, sending the Fighting type skidding backwards. He tried to get back up, but fainted from the effort.

"Hawlucha is unable to battle, which means Unfezant wins!"

_"A battle between two Flying types ends in Unfezant's victory! But what's this!? Ash sends out another Flying type to have an aerial battle!?"_

"You bet I am!" Ash thrust out his hand. "Into the sky, Talonflame! Flame Charge!"

Talonflame spread his wings wide, blasting into the air as fire engulfed him.

"After him!" Alain commanded. "Sky Attack!"

Unfezant flew after Talonflame, slowly catching up to him as they soared straight up and out of the stadium. They drew closer and closer before colliding with a mid-air explosion. Both appeared out of the smoke, diving back towards the stadium on opposite sides.

"Steel Wing!" Both Ash and Alain shouted and both Flying types changed course, slicing their wings against one another as they flew past.

"Use Flame Charge to go faster!" Ash commanded.

"Sky Attack!" Alain yelled.

Flames burst around Talonflame as he zoomed around the stadium, Unfezant close behind, bathed in golden light that streamed behind him. Talonflame banked left, gaining speed, but Unfezant seemed to be inching closer and closer.

"Wings up!" Ash shouted and Talonflame threw up his wings, the wind pushing him back behind Unfezant. "Go for him!" Talonflame resumed his fiery flight instantly, slamming into Unfezant's back before the Flying type could do anything. An explosion ripped the air just above the stadium and Unfezant fell through the smoke, heading straight for the ground.

"Use Air Slash to get back into the air!" Alain ordered and Unfezant threw razor sharp blades made of air towards the ground, the force from it enough to get Unfezant back to soaring.

"Let's finish him!" Ash roared. "Brave Bird!"

Talonflame emerged from the explosion, a blue flare erupting around him as he zoomed towards his opponent.

"Sky Attack!" Alain shouted and Unfezant blasted upwards, Talonflame going into a dive before pulling up after him. Unfezant switched course, diving towards his opponent. They collided with another large explosion, the wind rushing against the watching crowd. Both Pokemon fell from the smoke, crashing to the ground, fainted.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!"

_"A splendid aerial battle ends with both Pokemon taking each other out! Now it's down to three Pokemon each, which means that the field will be changed! Who will prevail in the second half of this Semifinal battle!?"_

...

"You're smiling," the girl smiled happily as she stared down at the screen. "I've never seen you like that before." She closed her eyes, praying from her heart. "Please, Alain. Win."

...

_"The field for the second half of the Kalos League Semifinal battle is the Meadow Field! How will this field change influence the fight!?"_

The judge stepped forwards, raising his arms. "Both of you, please call out your Pokemon!"

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash shouted, Pikachu leaping over his trainer to land on the grassy battlefield.

"Come out, Metagross!" Alain sent out the large Steel type.

"Begin the battle!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted and Pikachu leaped into the air, blasting an arc of electricity towards Metagross.

"Agility!" Alain yelled and Metagross disappeared reappearing behind Pikachu as the Electric type landed. As Pikachu turned, Metagross zoomed away again, appearing on different sides of Pikachu, trapping him.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted again.

Pikachu raised his arms, blasting electricity around him, but Metagross zoomed behind him, slamming his front leg into him. Pikachu flew forwards, slamming into the ground.

"Electro Ball!"

"Meteor Mash!"

Metagross raised both front legs, a blue aura flaring around him. He zoomed forwards, crashing into Pikachu with an explosion. Pikachu staggered backwards, bruised, but still standing.

"Psyshock!" Alain thrust out his hand.

"Quick Attack!" Ash yelled.

Pikachu sprang away with a burst of speed, the psychic pellets slamming into the earth behind him.

"Rock Slide!"

Metagross raised his front legs, several large boulders shooting into the sky. They zoomed towards Pikachu, who was barely dodging them.

"Now!" Ash shouted. "Iron Tail!" Pikachu leaped, swinging his glowing tail around, smashing through the last boulder. "Now use Thunderbolt!" The Electric attack hit Metagross, damaging him.

"Use Meteor Mash!" Alain ordered.

"Electro Ball!"

Pikachu leaped and swung his tail, shooting the ball of electricity towards his opponent. It collided with Metagross, stopping his attack.

"Metagross!" Alain shouted as Pikachu ran for him.

"Put all your power into this attack!" Ash grinned as he held out his hand. "Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu zoomed across the meadow, electricity flaring around him. He collided with Metagross with an explosion of light, blasting the Steel type back several feet. He shook his body, eyes locking onto the small Mouse Pokemon.

"Metal Claw!" Alain roared and Metagross dodged Pikachu's Iron Tail, slamming a leg into him. Pikachu crashed back to the ground, leaping back to his feet instantly, cheeks sparking. He unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt, blasting Metagross. Leaping into the air, Pikachu spun his body, slamming his tail into the Steel type's head, slamming him to the earth.

As Pikachu sprang away, Metagross didn't get back up. "Metagross is unable to battle, which means Pikachu wins!"

"Ash is back in the lead," I noted.

"But for how long?" Clemont shook his head. "Ash has never beaten Alain and they've battled several times before now."

"Go, Charizard!" Alain shouted, sending out his partner Pokemon.

"What?" Alex blinked. "Already?"

Ash grinned. "Pikachu, Quick Attack! Follow it up with Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu ran forwards, headbutting Charizard's stomach before leaping away and blasting him with a powerful Thunderbolt, making the Fire type roar in pain.

Alain only smiled. "Charizard, Flamethrower!"

Flames burst around Charizard's maw as he reared back his head, blasting jets of powerful flames towards Pikachu. The Electric type cried out as he was engulfed within them. He dropped back to the ground, barely able to move.

"Dragon Claw!"

Charizard appeared in front of Pikachu, slashing him back towards Ash, unable to move at all now.

"Pikachu is unable to battle, which means Charizard wins!"

"Pikachu!" Ash ran to his Pokemon, cradling him in his arms. He carried him back and laid him on the ground. "Get a good rest, Pikachu."

_"After beating Pikachu, Alain has returned Charizard! Now both trainers are down to their last two Pokemon! Who'll emerge victorious is anyone's guess at this point!"_

"Goodra, I choose you!" Ash sent out the Dragon type.

"So that's his last Pokemon," I realized. "Where was he this entire time?"

"Ash released him," Serena explained. "Ash caught Goodra as a Goomy who had been forced out of his homeland. Once we ended up there some time later, Goodra decided to stay. But he was still willing to come at Ash's invitation to battle in the League."

"Come out, Bisharp!"

"Goodra, use Dragon Pulse!" Ash commanded and Goodra blasted a blue beam towards Bisharp.

"Dodge and run for him!" Alain ordered.

Bisharp ducked as he sprinted towards Goodra, leaping to the side as Goodra aimed the beam downwards.

"Don't make it easy for him!" Ash shouted. "Ice Beam on the ground!"

Goodra struck the meadow with a beam of ice, freezing almost all of it. Bisharp slipped, crashing onto his back.

"Now!" Ash grinned. "Dragon Pulse!"

As he was getting to his feet, Bisharp was blasted backwards by the Dragon Pulse. He pressed his feet hard into the ground, coming to a halt as the ice cracked beneath him.

"Bisharp, use Thunder Wave!" Alain shouted and Bisharp clanged his arms together, an electric shock shooting towards the Dragon type. Goodra tried to dodge, but was hit by it and flinched as the electricity traveled along his body.

"Guillotine!" Alain yelled and Bisharp's blades glowed as they grew several feet long. He crouched, springing forwards.

Ash's eyes widened. "Rain Dance!"

Goodra's eyes glowed as he roared, dark rain clouds forming above the meadow before Bisharp slashed past. Goodra collapsed, fainted.

"Goodra is unable to battle, which means Bisharp wins!"

_"And Alain takes the lead, leaving Ash at only one Pokemon! It looks like his luck has started to run out!"_

"Let's finish this, Greninja!" Ash shouted, tossing out the Water type. Greninja appeared standing, arms folded as he narrowed his eyes through the rain at Bisharp.

"Bisharp, Iron Head!" Alain thrust out his hand and Bisharp ran for Greninja, head lowered.

"Double Team!" Ash shouted, grinning broadly. Greninja instantly made a dozen copies of itself and Bisharp began headbutting each one.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash called out and the real Greninja knelt, swinging out a glowing foot and catching Bisharp in the chest. Using his momentum, Greninja managed to fling Bisharp upwards. "After him! Water Shuriken!"

Greninja crouched and leaped, forming a shuriken. He flung it and it blasted into Bisharp's head. The Steel type crashed to the ground, fainted.

"Bisharp is unable to battle, which means Greninja wins!"

_"Now they're one-to-one! It's come down to this ladies and gentlemen; Greninja vs. Charizard! Can this Greninja triumph over the powerful Mega Evolution Alain and Charizard wield!?"_

"Charizard," Alain smiled proudly at his Fire type, who glanced back at him. "It's time for our long-awaited battle with Greninja. Let's enjoy this till the end!" Charizard blew a breath of fire in the air in agreement.

"Greninja," Ash swung his hand. "This is a worthy opponent for you! Let's show them what we're like at our best!" Greninja croaked in agreement and Ash yelled, "Run, Greninja!"

Greninja ran for Charizard, body bent low. Charizard drew back his head, blasting a jet of flames towards Greninja.

"Dodge it!" Ash commanded and Greninja leaped, body skimming just above the flames. "Cut!" Greninja formed the blade and slammed the side of it into Charizard's stomach, knocking him back several feet. Greninja leaped back closer to Ash as the rain petered off, leaving the meadow glistening.

"Let's go, Greninja!" Ash called out to his friend, then looked up at Alain. "Alain, I... _We_ won't lose. Let's fight with our full power! Greninja!"

Ash and Greninja both swung a fist to their chest, water bursting around Greninja. His body began to change and the water pulled back into his shuriken. He stretched his back before punching a fist forwards, fully transformed into his bond form.

The crowd cheered as Alain smiled. "Thank you, Ash. I've been waiting for you to show that full power of yours. Take me to even higher stages! All right, this is the end." He held up two fingers, pressing them onto his Mega Bracelet. "Charizard! Respond to my heart, Key Stone! Surpass evolution! Mega Evolve!" He raised his arm, tendrils of light connecting between trainer and Pokemon. Charizard growled as his body began changing, light swirling around him. With a roar and blast of blue flames, Charizard Mega Evolved, the mega symbol glowing brightly in front of him for just a second.

...

"Please, Charizard," the girl pleaded. "Make Alain win!"

...

"Run, Greninja!" Ash shouted and Greninja blasted forwards, instantly making a dozen copies of himself.

Charizard flew to meet him, mowing down the copies with a blue Flamethrower. Greninja's limbs glowed as he arced his foot, slamming it into the Fire type's side before bringing a fist down on his head. Greninja leaped back, flinging the shuriken from his back. Charizard recovered quick, slashing through the shuriken with two large Dragon Claws before soaring after his opponent.

Greninja formed two large blades, crouching before springing back towards Charizard. They clashed midair, both flying back from one another. Charizard drew back both fists, each sparking with electricity. He flew above Greninja, slamming one of them down. Greninja swung off his large shuriken, deflecting the attack before swinging it again to strike Charizard in the head. The Fire/Dragon type blocked with his other fists, swinging with precision, Greninja matching blow-for-blow. Finally, Greninja swung in an arc, slamming the Water Shuriken into Charizard's chest.

As the force of the attack blew the Dragon backwards, Alain smiled. _"Ash, thanks to you, I'm having a lot of fun right now. I'm grateful to you for making me feel this way. Thank you." _He closed his eyes, seeing Mairin's smile. _"But..._ I have to be the strongest! I can't lose to anyone anymore! Charizard!" Alain's face became fierce as he unclenched his fist into the shape of claws. "Dragon Claw!"

Greninja only had time to raise his arms as Charizard slashing his claws against him, knocking the Water type twenty feet away, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Ash immediately felt the pain as he held his arms close to his chest, grimacing. _"I'm having,"_ he straightened, fixing his hat. _"A lot of fun too, being able to fight a strong trainer like you, Alain. But this is the end." _He nodded at his rival and friend. "No hard feelings, whatever the outcome, Alain! Take this! This is the full power of every one of us combined! Greninja, Cut!"

Greninja dashed forwards, swinging his two blades as Charizard flew into the air to dive down towards him, brandishing his Dragon Claws. They clashed and Greninja managed to knock Charizard back a dozen feet. Charizard immediately slammed a fist on the meadow floor, cracks spreading across the entire battlefield. They began to glow, fire blasting out of the cracks, blasting Greninja into the sky. Charizard flew beneath Greninja, slamming an electrified fist into his back. Greninja and Ash both cried out in pain, but the Water type twisted in the air, slamming a fist into the Fire type's stomach before slamming both feet into his head. Charizard spun through the air, crashing into the meadow below. Greninja landed on both feet, already prepping two Water Shurikens. He swung them, both slamming into Charizard.

The Dragon type roared, blasting a huge burst of blue flames towards Greninja, who blocked what he could with his large shuriken, wincing at the intense heat. Charizard only let up once he was within a couple feet of his opponent, slashing downwards with draconic claws. Greninja brought up a webbed hand, blocking the attack, then doing the same with the other claws. He twisted his body, attacking Charizard with all he had, both Pokemon blocking one another's attack. Greninja swung his fist, slamming into Charizard's electrified one, and both Pokemon were blasted apart.

"Let's go, Alain!" Ash reached towards his back and threw his hand into the air. "WATER SHURIKEN!"

Greninja grabbed his large shuriken and threw his hand into the air as well, the shuriken flying out of his hand and swirling in place. A cyclone of water burst into existence, golden light spreading along it. The water expanded before bursting, revealing a gigantic golden Water Shuriken, rotating at high speeds above Greninja's hand.

Alain's eyes widened as shock spread across his face, but he quickly recovered, desperately slamming a fist into the ground. "BLAST BURN!"

The ground exploded beneath Charizard's fist, the earth rupturing as the heat traveled beneath the ground towards Greninja. With the red markings on his head glowing bright, Greninja drew back his arm, before flinging the giant shuriken with every ounce of strength he possessed. It flew towards Charizard as light broke through the ground and the battlefield exploded with energy, completely obscuring everything within a giant cloud of smoke.

As the smoke thinned, both Pokemon were revealed standing. They hung there for a couple moments before Greninja fell to one knee. Charizard took a step forwards and stumbled, collapsing onto the ground.

"Charizard is unable to battle! Therefor, the winner is Ash!"

The crowd exploded with noise, cheering and applauding. Ash fell to both knees, sweating profusely and taking deep breaths. Alain stood where he was for a long moment before walking towards his fallen Pokemon. He knelt, helping Charizard to his feet. Ash wiped his brow, heading towards Greninja to do the same. Greninja stood, his form fading as he held out his hand and Ash clasped it.

"We did it," Ash breathed, finally allowing himself to grin. "We beat him, Greninja!"

"Greninja!" Greninja agreed and both turned to face Alain and Charizard.

"Ash, thank you," Alain smiled softly.

"Back at you," Ash nodded. "Thank you very much for the thrilling battle."

"I..." Alain averted his eyes. "I didn't get stronger. "I failed. Myself, my Pokemon, and..."

"Alain," Ash clasped his friend's shoulder. "That's not true. You and Charizard were much more difficult this time around to beat. And I look forward to the next time we can battle."

Alain nodded, still not entirely meeting Ash's gaze. "Thank you. Ash, I wish you luck in the Finals."

"Thank you, Alain," Ash nodded and they shook hands as the crowd continued to cheer on.

...

I glanced up at the blue sky as I stood outside the stadium, breathing in the sweet air with Greninja standing next to me. The Semifinal battles had just ended and in a couple hours, the Final round of the Kalos League would commence.

I turned at the sound of footsteps, meeting my rival's gaze. "Not long now. Are you ready."

"Hah," Ash shook his head, grinning as he and Greninja stood side-by-side, standing opposite of my Greninja and I. "Are you kidding?" He held up a fist. "This League is ours!"

I chuckled, smirking. "Our rematch will be legendary. I just hope I can make your defeat look good."

We clasped our hand together, nodding. The time to battle would soon be upon us and the victor of the Kalos League determined.

_"But we won't lose,"_ I narrowed my eyes. _"Not this time. This time, we will win."_

**And Ash won! I mean, some of you likely saw that coming. Ash needed some justice done for him. But, that doesn't mean he'll win the Kalos League. Also, sorry for the long delay. Been kinda lazy, not gonna lie. But hopefully the next chapter, the final chapter in the Kalos League, will be up soon. Next chapter, **"Battle of the Bonds"**, Zeno and Ash's rivalry comes to head and the result will prove to be the most exciting and climatic battle in Kalos League History! Till then! Toodles!**


	71. Chapter 69: Battle of the Bonds

"C'mon, hurry up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Gladion muttered, stalking into the living room of Kukui's ramshackle house. "Yep, it hasn't even begun yet."

"You should still be here early," Hau gestured at the TV while he and Lillie sat on the couch, the blonde's head resting on his shoulder. "He is our friend you know."

"You won't be my friend much longer if you don't sit further away from my sister," Gladion pulled roughly on Hau's hair as he took a seat in an armchair close to Hau, Silvally coming up to lick his trainer's head.

"Hey!" Lillie glared at Gladion. "What have I told you!"

Gladion rolled his eyes, muttering to himself as he turned his attention to the large flat screen TV.

"Hey-o kiddos!" Professor Kukui said cheerfully as he and his wife, Burnet, came in to sit on the second couch. "It start yet?"

"Not yet," Hau leaned forward impatiently. "But soon." He smirked. "Zeno... what kind of battle are you going to give us today?"

...

"I believe in Ash. He'll win for sure."

"Nuh uh, not a chance. Zeno's got this."

"How long do you think before they start placing bets?" Robert whispered to Clemont, who shrugged.

"Oi, ladies," Clara kicked the back of Alex's chair. "Shut it!"

"By the way," Robert glanced around their seats. "Where's Alain? We saved a seat for him and everything."

Alex glanced back. "Oh yeah. I saw Alain leaving earlier. He didn't look that great in a mood."

"That's strange," Clemont frowned. "Alain doesn't seem like the type to not get hung up over a loss. Especially if it was against Ash. Something else must be on his mind."

"Well," Robert shrugged. "Who knows. For now, we have a battle to watch. Hey, look!" He pointed. "Here they come!"

...

"Well well," Silver grinned as he set down his bowl, glancing at the TV in the corner of the Ramen Shop. "I do wonder, brother. How far have you come from being Giovanni's pet assassin?"

...

"So then," Diantha murmured as she gazed at Zeno and Ash arriving onto the battlefield. "Which of you has the most determination to win, the desire to overcome your weakness?"

...

"That's my boy!" Jessie exclaimed as she whooped with joy. "Go get 'em!"

"Beat that twerp!" James punched a fist. "Show him who's boss once and for all!"

"It's payback time for all the pain we went through!" Meowth exclaimed. "Show us you can beat that accursed Pikachu!"

"Woooobbuffet!"

...

My footsteps echoed around me in the glass tunnel, my trench coat swaying as I walked. Ahead of me was the rising battlefield, and further, Ash walking through his own tunnel, Pikachu atop his shoulder. I breathed, setting my gaze. This was it. The moment my, no, _our_ whole journey has led us to.

"I made you a promise." I felt my bond with Greninja, relishing in that wondrous feeling. "That we would win the league, together. Now that time is upon us." I gripped my fist, grinning as I walked into the bright sunlight and roaring crowd. "So then, Greninja, let's show him the culmination of our journey and our true power!"

...

_"It's a beautiful afternoon folks and the Lumiose Conference is close to its end! Up till now we've had so many breathtaking battles and we can only wish it wouldn't end! But that's exactly the opposite of what our two finalists are seeking! Coming onto the field now are Ash of Pallet Town and Zeno our mysterious foreigner!"_

Smoke exploded into the air around the stadium and the crowd began cheering as we took our positions on either side of the arena. The field had fully risen and locked into place.

_"The first field for the final round of the Kalos League will be the City Field! What kind of fight will they give us with this kind of battlefield!? We've already seen them defeat two seriously strong trainers and both are in possession of uniquely powerful Greninjas! One can only wonder if this battle was a long time coming! Is this destiny we're witnessing today folks!?"_

"Destiny, eh?" I sucked in a breath, anticipating the thrill that came with battling. "Perhaps."

"Hey, Zeno!" Ash called over to me, pumping out his fist. "Let's give them a battle for the ages, what do you say?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" I grinned, raising my fist.

The judge stepped forwards, raising both hands. "The final battle between Ash and Zeno will now begin! You may use six Pokemon each! Pokemon may be substituted freely! As soon as one party's Pokemon are all unable to battle, the battle is over! Also, once once three of either party's Pokemon are unable to battle, there will be an interval so we can change the battlefield! Both of you, please call out your Pokemon!"

"Goodra, I choose you!" Ash shouted, throwing out his Dragon type.

"Seems like this should be in my favor," I threw my pokeball into the air. "Mawile, come on out!"

_"A Dragon against a Fairy type! There's no question as to has the advantage in this bout!"_

"Now then, begin the battle!"

"Goodra, use Ice Beam!" Ash commanded.

"Mawile, run and dodge!" I ordered. "And use Power-Up Punch!"

Mawile ran across the cobblestone, ducking below the beam of ice. She readied her fist as it began to glow.

"As if we'd let you!" Ash shouted. "Aqua Tail!"

Goodra narrowed his eyes, turning as he swept his tail, water surging around it. Mawile's eyes widened as the water slammed into her chest and sent her flying backwards.

"Ice Beam!"

Goodra blasted a beam of ice from his mouth, freezing the cobblestone ground before hitting Mawile. She cried out as part of her became frozen, making it a struggle to move.

"Now go for a Muddy Water!" Ash called out and Goodra roared as he raised his arms, dirty water surging over him and cascading towards Mawile.

"Baton Pass!" I shouted and Mawile glowed for a second before returning to her pokeball. I sent out Corviknight, who easily flew above the water.

_"And Zeno's second Pokemon is Corviknight, a good choice to evade that Muddy Water!"_

"Hit him with Ice Beam!" Ash commanded, but Corviknight dodged the attack, folding his wings as he dived towards the Dragon type, circling as he went.

"That's it!" I yelled. "Drill Peck!"

"Bide!" Ash shouted just before Corviknight slammed into Goodra, spinning as his beak glowed brightly. Goodra cried out in pain and Corviknight flew back into the air, wings outstretched.

"Be careful," I warned the Steel type. "Air Slash!"

Corviknight flapped his wings, several air blades slamming into Goodra with a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, Goodra's whole body was glowing red. His face looked enraged as he drew back his head, unleashing a huge beam of red energy.

"Dive!" I shouted and Corviknight quickly folded his wings, letting gravity do the rest. Goodra began aiming the beam down to hit him, the ground rushing way too quickly towards the Flying type.

"Now!" I roared. "Steel Wing!"

Corviknight stretched out his glowing wings as he zoomed towards Goodra, the beam quickly slicing down. An explosion obscured them both, making it unclear which attack had hit who. Corviknight flew into the sky, looking hurt, but otherwise okay. Goodra was on one knee, an eye closed as he grimaced in pain.

"Rain Dance!" Ash shouted and dark rain clouds formed overhead, puddles forming on the street. "Now use Ice Beam!"

"Slice through it with Drill Peck!" I shouted and the Flying type began spinning through the air, the Ice Beam reflecting off the tip of his beak as he zoomed towards Goodra.

"Now use Aqua Tail!" Ash roared. Goodra bellowed alongside his trainer, water surging around his tail as he spun his body around.

"Switch to Dual Wingbeat!" I commanded. "Hit that Aqua Tail first!"

Corviknight broke out of his spin, slapping a glowing wing against Goodra's tail, the force from it spinning Corviknight to the right. The extra momentum allowed the Steel type to swing his other wing into Goodra's neck, slamming the Dragon type onto his back.

As Corviknight flew into the sky, the judge shouted, "Goodra is unable to battle, which means Corviknight wins!"

_"The first victory goes to Zeno, putting him in the lead! Will this be the determining factor for his victory!?"_

"Let's take this battle to the skies!" Ash shouted, throwing his pokeball into the air. "Noivern, use Supersonic!"

"Counter with Metal Sound!" I ordered and Corviknight let out a metallic screech that sliced through the Supersonic and seemed to make Noivern wince in pain.

I blinked, then smirked. "Oh yeah, now there's a plan. Corviknight, Steel Wing!"

Corviknight cawed and his wings glowed with metallic light as he soared towards Noivern.

"Counter him with Dragon Claw!" Ash shouted.

Both Pokemon clashed in the air, unwilling to let the other win the struggle.

"Now we're close!" I yelled triumphantly. "Metal Sound! As loud as you can!"

The sound that came from Corviknight beak was like the worse ever nails on a chalkboard. Noivern screeched in pain as he shook his head around and plummeted through the air before crashing into a table, a small smoke cloud rising above him. The Dragon type climbed unsteadily from the wreckage, shaking his head.

"Let's finish him!" I shouted. "Drill Peck!"

"It's not over yet!" Ash said with determination. "Noivern, Hurricane!"

Noivern cried out, flapping his wings. Wind swirled around him, increasing in speed and power. Corviknight was forced back up into the air, flying out of the attack's range.

"Sound is out of the question," Ash said grimly. "But we still have our eyes and speed! Noivern, keep using Hurricane!"

Noivern flew back into the air, manipulating the fierce storm towards Corviknight, who was sucked back into it.

"Go with the motion!" I shouted, thinking quick. "Drill Peck straight into the sky!"

Corviknight began spinning, shooting up the swirling winds and towards open air. Then he broke free, unfolding his wings just as a dark shape rose above him.

"Dragon Claw!" Ash shouted and Noivern slashed downwards, striking Corviknight in the head and sending him back towards the battlefield below.

"Get out of that dive with Brave Bird!" I roared and Corvknight's body began to glow. A beam of draconic energy slammed into his back as he pulled out of the dive, slamming him back to earth. He slid along the cobblestone ground, creating a large groove.

"Corviknight is unable to battle, which means Noivern wins!"

_"While he did some fancy flying to escape that hurricane and try to avoid crashing back down to earth, Noivern proved to be too much for Corviknight to handle!"_

"You did good," I murmured as I returned the Raven Pokemon. " Let us finish him." I expanded another pokeball, tossing it. "Lucario, let's show them your aura!"

Lucario growled as he appeared crouching, slamming a fist into the ground, cracking it. Noivern roared, flying into the air.

"Wing Attack!" Ash shouted and Noivern's wings began to glow as he zoomed towards Lucario.

"Bone Rush over him!" I commanded and Lucario started to run, forming a long bone as he went. He slammed the end of it into the ground and used it to propel himself over Noivern. "Aura Sphere!" Lucario channeled his aura into a blue sphere and launched it into the Dragon type's back.

Noivern cried out, crashing back to the ground.

"Hurry and use Dragon Claw!" Ash ordered as Lucario ran for his opponent. Noivern twisted his body around, slashing Lucario in the chest and sending him backwards.

"Copycat!" I shouted and Lucario extended his fingers, draconic claws forming around his paws. He rushed forwards, blocking an attack from Noivern and slashing the Dragon in the chest as well. "Dodge use Dragon Pulse!" Lucario flipped backwards as Noivern slashed his claws, then blasted Noivern with a beam of energy.

"He's weakened!" I gripped a fist. "Time to finish him! Extreme Speed!"

Before Ash or Noivern could do a thing, Lucario had already rushed past Noivern, coming to a stop several feet behind the Dragon type. Noivern blinked, then collapsed.

"Noivern is unable to battle, which means Lucario wins!"

_"A quick victory from Lucario! Even when not Mega Evolved, he's a force to be reckoned with!"_

"Dang," Ash smiled as he shook his head upon returning Noivern. "I still can't believe how strong he is. But, I know just how powerful he can really be, and that's what I want to see!" Ash held up a pokeball. "And that's why I brought him!" He drew back his arm, launching the ball into the air. "Let's go! A Fighting type against a Fighting type!"

"INFERNAAAAAAAAPE!" The Pokemon cried, flames blasting from his head.

_"WOW! Ash has brought a Pokemon he hasn't used before yet! Wait, this just in! It seems this is the same Infernape Ash used while participating in the Lily of the Valley Conference in Sinnoh! A real powerhouse, sure to give Zeno and Lucario some real trouble!"_

"We can't underestimate him!" I pressed my thumb against the Key Stone, ribbons of light connecting me and Lucario. "Ash specifically brought Infernape to deal with us! Let's show them our power, our determination, and our unbreakable bond! Lucario, Mega Evolve!" Lucario howled as he Mega Evolved, his aura swirling around him.

"Let's begin with a Mach Punch!" Ash called out to his Pokemon, pumping his fist forwards. Infernape leaped, slamming a fist into Lucario's chest with insane speed, blasting him backwards. Lucario skidded along the road, dropping to one knee.

"Again!" Ash shouted and Infernape jumped, ready to slam his fist down towards Lucario.

Lucario's eyes narrowed and he swung his fist, meeting Infernape's in the air. A resounding force blasted from the impact and a second passed before both Pokemon were knocked away from one another. Lucario wasted no time in rocketing forwards, slamming a fist into the Fire type's stomach. Infernape's breath was taken away, but he narrowed his eyes as he became enraged, swinging his foot out and kicking the Steel type back a couple feet. Infernape roared and blasted a jet of flames into Lucario's face.

Lucario grimaced in pain for a second before whisking the fire away with his aura. He leaped, slamming his blazing foot against Infernape's side, kicking him away. He then drew back a fist, his four paws glowing orange. He blasted forwards, swinging and kicking. Infernape's eyes widened as he was punched and kicked repeatedly, but he managed to duck as the flames on his head grew and enveloped him. He crashed into Lucario with an explosion, knocking both Pokemon away from one another again.

_"Neither Pokemon are willing to give the other an inch! Both seemed to be evenly matched and the battle seems like it can go either way at this point!"_

Infernape lunged forwards, managing to grapple Lucario from behind. Lucario tried to grab him and throw him off, but Infernape gave a loud cry and the flames enveloped him once more. He burst forwards while still holding onto Lucario, slamming them into a building with an even bigger explosion then before. The structure collapsed, then another explosion triggered and the building next to it was brought crumbling down as well. Neither Pokemon could be seen within the huge dust cloud. A third explosion rocked the stadium and finally, the dust began to clear. Both Pokemon stood panting amongst the ruined city battlefield, both battered.

Lucario took the first step forwards, Infernape taking the next one without a moment's hesitation. Lucario stretched his fingers before curling them into fists, a harsh glow emanating from them. Infernape snarled, flames circling around him. The Aura Pokemon lunged towards the Fire type, swinging a fist, a wind of aura sending debris up into the air. The Flame Pokemon leaped into the air, twisting into a Flame Wheel. He spun in the air, streams of fire arcing out of it. It burned through the aura wind and blasted Lucario back.

Lucario flipped and landed on both feet as Infernape blasted towards him in the Flame Wheel. Lucario formed a long bone and slammed it into Infernape with all the power of his aura, sending Infernape flying away with astonishing speed. He slammed into a ruined structure with a mighty explosion. Lucario growled, dropping to one knee as he panted hard, the bone disappearing.

An explosion of blue fire made all eyes turn towards the ruined building, the smoke thinning. Infernape trudged through the wreckage, pushing aside a section of wall. His eyes were glowing red, the flames atop his head blasting upwards, turning blue. He roared, the flames exploding higher and wider, lighting up the stadium and casting a deep shadow of himself.

Lucario's eyes widened as the Fire type surrounded himself with blue flames, blasting towards him. Lucario swung a glowing fist, his aura surging around him. He roared, eyes small as his aura increased with power. Both Pokemon slammed into one another with shocking power, sending a shock wave into the crowd and a column of fire straight into the sky, followed by another huge explosion.

Infernape had rocketed past Lucario and stood several meters away, breathing hard as his eyes were still red and small. Lucario's Mega Form dissolved as he fell forwards. As he thumped to the ground, Infernape's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he collapsed backwards.

The judge's words were drowned out by the loud roar from the crowd. But I already knew what was to happen next. As we returned our fallen Pokemon, I glanced back up at Ash.

"To think you were planning something like this all along," I chuckled. "Ash, you really are bringing all you've got aren't you!?"

"You bet!" Ash exclaimed excitedly as the ruined battlefield lowered back into the ground. "I honestly thought we could beat your Lucario and still continue, but I guess you were both stronger than I had anticipated." Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, then a confident smile appeared on his face. "Trust me, I won't make that same mistake twice."

"Neither will I," I nodded, narrowing my eyes as the next battlefield rose up and latched into place.

_"An explosive battle that marked the midway point of the Kalos League Finale that put Zeno ahead of Ash! Can he keep up the heat or will his chance at victory be doused!? This final field is the Meadow Field once more! What kind of battle will be made here!?__ Let the second half of the Kalos League Finale, BEGIN!"_

"Talonflame!" Ash shouted. "Flame Charge!"

"Slash!" I yelled.

Bisharp swung both arms, wincing in pain as Talonflame crashed into him, but he managed to slash the Fire type away.

"Brave Bird!"

"Take the hit!" I shouted and Talonflame slammed into Bisharp with incredible force. "Metal Burst!"

Bisharp slammed his arms together, dozens of metal shards exploding outwards and honing in on Talonflame. They slammed into the Fire type, making him cry out in pain. Bisharp ran, his blades turning dark. Talonflame zoomed towards him, flames surrounding him. Just as they were to collide, the Flying type broke off, a gust of wind slamming into Bisharp and sending him up into the air

"Spin in the air and use Night Slash!" I commanded the Steel type, but as soon as he tried, Talonflame slammed into him, sending him crashing back down to earth.

"Alright then," I narrowed my eyes. "Bisharp, use Guillotine!"

Bisharp's blades grew longer as he swung, Talonflame diving towards him, but broke off as Bisharp swung his blades.

"Acrobatics!" Ash shouted and Talonflame darted around Bisharp, who was unable to keep his eyes trained on the Flying type.

"Night Slash around you!" I shouted and Bisharp swung his blades, a dark wind slashing against Talonflame. "Now!" I yelled. "Metal Sound to stun him!"

Bisharp clanged his arms together, the jarring sound making Talonflame shake his head wildly. Then Bisharp was there, leaping towards the Fire type, ready to strike with Guillotine. Talonflame's eyes widened, but his beak ignited with flames and a blast of fire erupted from his mouth, engulfing Bisharp completely. The Steel type fell back onto the grass, burnt and unconscious.

"Bisharp is unable to battle, which means Talonflame wins!"

_"Talonflame learned Flamethrower in the nick of time, evening out the scores! Now both Ash and Zeno are tied up with three Pokemon each!"_

"Come on back out, Mawile!" I shouted, throwing out the Steel and Fairy Pokemon. Part of her body still has ice on it, slowing her movement.

"Try and break it off," I commanded. "Use Power-Up Punch!"

"Don't give her time!" Ash ordered. "Razor Wind!"

Mawile was flung into the air, the speed and pressure of the wind putting a heavy strain on her as it slashed her.

"Flame Charge!" Ash shouted. "Let's go!"

"That's it!" I snapped my fingers, grinning. "Use Crunch to get onto his back!"

Mawile's eyes snapped open and she twisted her body in the air, clenching her back jaw onto Talonflame's back. She gripped tighter as the flames enveloped her, melting the ice on her body.

"Shake her off with Brave Bird!"

"Sucker Punch his wings!" Mawile clenched both her jaws, slamming a fist into Talonflame's right wing before he could activate Brave Bird. He cried out in pain and began to plummet, the fire whisked away. Mawile, half burned and bruised, leaped while her back jaw still gripped Talonflame tightly. She twisted her body in the air and slammed Talonflame into the ground.

"Now Power-Up Punch!" I shouted and Mawile swung a glowing fist, slamming it beneath his beak and sent him sprawling a dozen feet away. When he didn't get back up, the judge raised his hand as Ash returned him.

"Talonflame is unable to battle, which means Mawile wins!"

_"With Talonflame taken care of, Zeno takes back the lead! But, this means the last two Pokemon Ash likely has are bound to be powerhouses! Can Zeno take them on and win!? Or will Ash dominate the rest of the battle!?"_

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash held up his arm, the Electric type running across it, leaping onto the battlefield. Sparks crackled from his cheeks as he crouched in preparation for the battle to come.

"Be careful, Mawile," I warned the Fairy type. "He'll be a tough one. Sucker Punch!"

Mawile lunged for the Mouse Pokemon, fist wrapped in shadows.

"Quick Attack!" Ash yelled and Pikachu dodged the attack, then headbutted Mawile in the side. Mawile grimaced in pain before swinging her back jaw around, gleaming like iron. Pikachu swung his tail, both Steel attacks clanging off one another.

Mawile swung her arms, a pink wind slamming into Pikachu. His cheeks sparked and a bolt of electricity arced towards the Steel type.

"Slam your jaw into the ground!" I shouted quickly and Mawile did as instructed, the Electric attack hitting her, but it passed straight through her and into the ground. Mawile sprung forwards, fist raised. Pikachu ran for her, a ball of electricity forming on the tip of his tail. Pikachu swung as Mawile brought down her fist, the two attacks connecting. Mawile was blown backwards, arcing through the air, smoke trailing behind her. Electricity sparked around Pikachu before blasting towards Mawile, shocking her midair. She fell to the ground, fainted.

"Mawile is unable to battle, which means Pikachu wins!"

_"And Ash has tied up the score once again! The battlers are down to two Pokemon each! These final bouts are what'll determine the winner of the Kalos League!"_

"Let's not keep our rivals waiting!" I hefted the pokeball into the air. "Arcanine, let's get a move on!"

A huge roar followed Arcanine's arrival and he breathed a huge jet of flames into the sky. He lowered his head to stare down his Electric rival, eyes narrowed and flames flickering from his maw.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted, raising his hand. "Volt Tackle!"

"Head on! Flare Blitz!" I roared.

Both Pokemon ran for one another, electricity trailing behind Pikachu as flame blazed around Arcanine. They collided with a massive explosion, rocking the stadium. Arcanine spun around, flames erupting around his fangs. He bit down hard, but Pikachu managed to spring upwards, slamming his tail down on the Fire type's head.

Arcanine twisted his body around, blasting Pikachu with Flamethrower. Electricity burst outwards, countering the flames. Pikachu swung his tail, an Electro Ball blasting towards the Fire type. Arcanine bit down on it, a small explosion obscuring him in smoke. He burst out of it, biting down on Pikachu's body with fire and electricity. He shook the Mouse Pokemon wildly before tossing him along the ground.

Pikachu landed on all fours, blasting a bolt of electricity towards Arcanine, who met the attack with a jet of flames. Arcanine rushed forwards, slamming into Pikachu before he could react. The Electric type sped away, Arcanine keeping pace as they zoomed around the meadow. Their speed was so great, the wind could be felt amongst the crowd.

Arcanine spun into a wheel of fire, slamming into Pikachu's side, blasting the Electric type back towards the middle of the battlefield. He changed course, heading for the Mouse Pokemon. Pikachu leapt to the side, twisting his body as he swung his tail, a small orb of electricity flying towards the Fire type. As Arcanine spun out of the Flame Wheel, the small orb expanded into an electrified web. It landed over Arcanine, trapping him as well as jolting him with a couple thousand volts.

Arcanine struggled against his bonds, only succeeding in tangling himself up further in the webs. Pikachu sprang into the air, his body crackling with electricity. A Thunderbolt blasted into Arcanine, making the Fire type howl. He spun into a wheel of fire, tangling up the web again, but this time it was burnt away and Arcanine was free. He turned and zoomed towards Pikachu. The Electric type's cheeks sparked as he dodged and swung his gleaming tail, smacking Arcanine away.

Arcanine slammed all four paws on the ground, waves of heat rolling off of him. He roared and the searing wind blasted outwards, slamming into Pikachu. Before the Electric type could recover, Arcanine fired a draconic beam from his maw. It slammed into Pikachu and knocked him across the meadow. Arcanine moved in a blur, aiming to slam into the Electric type at full speed.

Bolts of electricity arced upwards from where Pikachu was getting back up, each one slamming into the ground, Arcanine barely avoiding each one by mere inches. A huge bolt crashed down in front of him, blasting Arcanine away with an explosion of electricity. He struggled to his paws, electricity crackling along his body as he narrowed his eyes at his rival. Pikachu in turn was crouching, a fierce determination across his expression, one that seemed way too full of emotion for such a small creature.

Both began to move. Arcanine's slow lumbering picked up into gallop as his body seemed to become more lean. He stretched his muscles, low to the ground as he practically flew across the battlefield, fire and electricity speeding off of him. Pikachu darted forwards, picking up speed as pure energy streamed behind him. Arcanine let out a roar as they zoomed towards one another, colliding in a massive explosion.

As the smoke cleared, Arcanine was revealed to be laying on his side, fainted. Pikachu still stood several feet away, cheeks sparking. The crowd roared as Pikachu limped back towards his trainer, apparently too tired to continue on. Ash welcomed his parter Pokemon with a hug and a smile as the announcer raved on about how that was a spectacular battle.

I heaved a sigh, smiling as I returned Arcanine. "You did good, buddy. It seems his experience outweighed ours. But we'll catch up one day, I know we will." I tucked the ball away and looked back up at my rival. _"Ash, you've traveled far longer and much farther than I. You're a strong and worthy rival; a Pokemon Master in your own right. I wonder, what will come from our battle today? Who will move onto the Kalos Champions League?"_

A thrill of excitement pulsed through me. If my Pokemon and I won here today, there would be much more challenging battles awaiting us. _"We're ready for it! More so than ever." _I enlarged my last Pokeball, tossing out the first Pokemon I had befriended in this region. "Greninja!"

"Grenin!" He crossed his arms, the sun shining upon his black rubbery skin. He narrowed his eyes at his brother, whom Ash had just called out.

"Greninja, you and I, we've faced hardship, yet we've overcame it all. You started out weak, shadowed by an overwhelming fate. But that has been conquered, and right now, we'll show the world the fruit of your labors!" I raised a fist, my trench swirling around me. "Greninja!"

...

_"What can we do to defeat him?" I folded my arms behind my head, gazing up at the white puffy clouds lazily crossing the blue sky, Greninja laying beside me. "His Greninja is strong, perhaps even stronger than you."_

_"Gren," Greninja glanced at me with a scornful look._

_"Don't worry, I'm not doubting you," I patted his shoulder. "It's just, Ash and his Greninja cunning and not a duo to look down upon. We both know that in the last battle we fought against Ash, we didn't win."_

_"Inja," Greninja agreed reluctantly._

_"We need an edge," I mused. "Something that'll be not only effective, but unique to our style."_

_"Grenin?"_

_I closed my eyes, thinking back to the battles Ash and I had together. The first time, back in Lumiose City, Froakie vs. Froakie. We had won, but the next time we faced, Frogadier had been beaten, despite his way of imitating my way of wielding a knife. Then in our third battle, our injuries prevented us from going all out and we ended up losing again._

_"Grenin?" Greninja prompted, breaking me from my thoughts. "Inja?"_

_"The first move?" I raised an eyebrow. "I guess the first move can really decide the outcome in a battle a lot, so I guess that's a good place to start. But how could we start off strong? We both transform and go from there, nothing really to... it..."_

_I sat up, blinking. Images flashed by my mind. Battles we had fought. That day when Laverre City was attacked by the Cult, the time we saved Clara and her Pokemon in the Lost Hotel, for a brief moment to hold off Yveltal beneath Geosenge, and when we engaged the Ultra Beasts on their home turf. _

_"That's it."_

...

"Connect!"

Water surged upwards around Greninja, our emotions and bonds intertwining. Our breathing settled into one, the adrenaline pumping through us making us fully aware.

"This is where we show you, Ash, just how powerful we really are!" I roared, Greninja yelling with me within his column of water.

Ash's grin was as wide as it could possibly be. "Then show us! Greninja, let's get stronger! Stronger than we've ever been!"

His Greninja gave a cry and water burst around him, forming back into his giant Water Shuriken. He dashed forwards, brandishing the large shuriken.

"GO!" I shouted, thrusting out my hand. Our connection was there, as shaky and powerful as the tornado of water that swirled around **Greninja**. It wasn't perfect, but that's what made it so powerful.

**Greninja **blasted forwards, slamming the water hurricane into Greninja, deflecting the attack. He zoomed around Greninja, striking with the churning liquid. Greninja swung his arms, slashing against the torrent with a fierce dark wind. He chipped away at the water, wearing it away.

"Condense!" I said through gritted teeth and **Greninja **surged backwards, the water around him condensing into a sphere of swirling liquid. He bolted forwards, punching and kicking, Greninja blocking each attack and countering with his own. He swung a blade and **Greninja **met it with his own.

I narrowed my eyes, our bond increasing with every movement. Within all that, I could sense something else. I seemed to stare across an empty field at Ash, a rival like no other.

"We've both come a long way," Ash said. "Zeno, I'm glad to have met you. You've pushed me and my Pokemon farther than I thought possible. Thank you."

"No, you were the one who pushed us further." I stared determinedly at him. "Greninja, he was destined for death. I pushed him, in hopes that he could become stronger. Strong enough to live, strong enough overcome anyone, including your Greninja. But that ended in death. However," I raised a fist, smiling. "That only made us stronger, just like I had hoped. And now, it's all come down to this. Against our ultimate rival. This is what we've been striving towards. And we won't lose, not ever again!"

Ash laughed. "Took the words right out of my mouth." He stood straight and firm. "Whatever the outcome, we can at least take the pleasure in knowing we gave it our all."

"Agreed," I nodded, feeling something within me stir and I let it rise. "Now then! Embrace the night! Full Sync! We are the Kage-Shinobi!"

**Greninja **gave a cry and the water burst outwards, blasting his opponent away. It was drawn back in, forming his cloak and daggers, two water blades forming in each webbed hand. He darted forwards, slashing at Greninja. Ash's Greninja formed a blade and struck back, **Greninja **gaining the upper hand as he parried and slashed upwards as he ducked, knocking him away.

I closed my eyes, reopening them immediately to see Greninja slamming a punch in my middle. I grunted as the cold ice covered my chest as I was blown backwards. I flipped upright, dashing forwards as I multiplied myself. We converged on Greninja as one, blasting him with Hydro Pumps. Mist covered the immediate area, but then a shadow leaped into the sky. He flung shurikens everywhere, slicing through each copy before one managed to hit me. I ignored the pain and smacked my hands together, forming a shuriken, swinging it towards Greninja, catching him in the middle.

I slammed my webbed hand on the ground, fissures spreading towards my opponent. Three jets of water blasted upwards and Greninja was barely able to dodge before blasting a beam of ice at them, freezing them solid. He slammed a glowing foot into them, smashing them to pieces before whipping up a dark wind and shooting them towards me.

Narrowing my eyes, I felt my body lighten as I glowed. I ran, leaping and twisting, barely dodging each missile. I slammed a fist into Greninja's stomach and landed a kick on his shoulder. Then a blow to my head brought me to the ground and I grimaced. I slammed both hands on the ground, blasting myself upwards with psychic energy. I snatched two blades from my legs and threw down on either side of Greninja. He leaped upwards, barely dodging the dark winds that exploded from the blades. He then drew back a fist, ice spreading along it.

In a flash, I had whipped off my cloak, using it to protect myself. The bubbles expanded and exploded, blasting Greninja with water. He soared backwards as I landed back on the ground, a giant shuriken forming on my back. I lunged forwards, swinging it off and slashing it towards Greninja. He countered with his own shuriken and brought it up over my head and brought it down. I slammed it to the side, grabbing my shuriken with both hands and swung up to the side, blasting it against my opponent's side.

He staggered, then slashed upwards with Cut, striking me in the chin. I roared, lunging forwards, Water Shurikens forming on the back of my wrists. They remained there as I slashed and blocked. I leapt to the side and twisted my body around, slashing the edges of the fins atop my head against Greninja's side, making him cry out. I rolled along the ground, flicking the shurikens away and they spun around towards Greninja. He twisted in the air, both shurikens striking the ground behind him.

I leaped back further, tossing water spikes along the ground before forming several Water Shurikens. I launched them as Greninja ran for me, nimbly avoiding each spike. He leaped into the air, avoiding the shurikens as he formed a sphere of water, slamming it down on my head. I grunted and grabbed his leg, flinging him back onto the spikes where they exploded. Greninja then swung a glowing foot upwards, knocking me away before spinning around and slamming his fist into my head.

I staggered where I stood, watching the battle between our Greninjas. It was a melee fight more than anything, a duel between rivals. Gritting my teeth, I knew we had to end this soon. We couldn't take much more.

**Greninja **held out the sphere of water, holding back Greninja's Ice Beam before hurtling the ball of ice at him. It shattered against his chest and **Greninja **lunged for him, slamming his glowing fist into his stomach. He swung his hands into the air, a wave of water blasting his opponent into the sky. Greninja froze the water and shattered it entirely, ice raining down on **Greninja**. He raised his hand, freezing the ice in the air with psychic energy before launching them at his opponent.

Both Greninjas darted forwards, slashing and parrying with blades, both knocking one another back. They were both breathing heavily, enjoying the thrill of the battle.

"C'mon!" Ash and I roared. "Let's finish this!"

Both Greninjas' eyes seemed to glow red as they blasted towards one another. Water surged upwards, striking one in the chest as he swung a shuriken into the other's middle. He rose above the waves, slamming his glowing foot down, shattering the earth as the other dodged, bringing up a sphere of water into his head. Both Greninjas swung their fists, the resulting force blasting both of them back over twenty feet, skidding along the ground.

My Greninja bent his knees, leaping forwards as he multiplied, each one slashing with dark blades. Ash's Greninja moved with surprising speed, slashing each one away before clashing with my Greninja. They parried and one leaped, swinging his foot around, but the other caught it and swung it aside, slamming his fist into their stomach. Both swung their arms and two waves of water slammed into one another. They held it for as long as possible before being blasted back once again.

I could feel our power reaching it's climax as I felt time slow. I met Greninja's eyes and nodded. This was it.

"Greninja!" Ash and I seemed to roar as one with our Pokemon. "WATER SHURIKEN!"

Ash's Greninja swung his giant shuriken off, holding it above him as it swirled, water bursting around it. It expanded, gleaming gold as it spun with power. My Greninja dashed forwards, swinging off his shuriken as he drew his hand back. Water surged around it as it floated inches from his webbed hand, turning a gleaming black as it surged with power, electricity seeming to crackle across it like lighting from storm clouds. Both roared as they swung, both Shurikens gliding past one another, missing by millimetres. Twin explosions obscured the Water types as the resulting force rocked the stadium. I held my hands in front of me as my trench billowed behind me. I gritted my teeth, trying to see Greninja amongst the chaos.

Then all was still. The smoke was thinning and the audience was holding their breath. Two shapes became clear. Both Greninjas stood beside each other, shoulder to shoulder. Both just seemed to stand there, bruised and weary. Then...

The crowd let out a resounding cheer as the judge raised his hand. The announcer was yelling, his words barely audible over the roar of the crowd. I walked forwards, footsteps seeming to echo in my ears. I knelt, helping Greninja to his feet as I pulled his arm over my shoulders.

I smiled sadly as his eyes flickered open and he looked at me weakly. "You did your best, Greninja. I couldn't be any prouder.

"Gren," he croaked and managed a smile as I helped him up, staring at Ash and Greninja.

"This will be the second time I've lost in a league," I joked.

Ash patted my shoulder. "That's nothing my friend. I've lost five. But now," he closed his eyes, seeming to let several emotions wash over him at once. "I'm one step closer to my dream of becoming a Pokemon Master."

"Now there's a broad goal," I raised an eyebrow. "How will you know if you achieve it?"

He shrugged, grinning widely. "I guess I'll just know."

I shook my head, smiling with unheard laughter. "Such a kid, aren't you?"

"Zeno," I looked up at the sound of my name and saw Ash holding out his hand. "Thank you, both you, Greninja, and your other Pokemon. I hope you'll all cheer for me when I take on this region's Elite 4 and Champion."

"Of course," I clasped his hand as both Greninja's did the same. "May you achieve the victory you strive for, Ash Ketchum."

...

Ash stood atop a small platform as Diantha handed him the golden trophy. "Ash, I laud you for being a trainer that raised his Pokemon well, formed a strong bond with them, and displayed unprecedented ."

"Thank you very much, Diantha," Ash bowed his head, accepting the trophy.

The crowd clapped and cheered as Ash soaked in the moment of glory, one he had only dreamed about.

"Ash," I caught his attention as I stood feet away. "Congratulations."

He nodded, smiling. He opened his mouth to say something, but something exploded. The stadium shook as I glanced towards a part of the stadium wall. A huge dark vine had breached the wall, more doing the same around the whole area. The audience shouted with shock as my eyes widened. Blasts of energy slammed into the ground around us, knocking Ash off his platform. I stumbled, trying to keep my footing. I glanced around, only to see something flying towards me. I couldn't even cry out in pain as my body seized up and I fell to the ground.

As darkness closed in on me, I saw the green-haired scientist from Team Flare standing over. "We got both it seems. But only one is useful." She knelt and flicked my hair as I closed my eyes, surrendering to unconsciousness. "And you aren't needed, Zeno."

**This is definitely my longest chapter yet, with over 7000 words! I hope you enjoyed this amazing Kalos League Finale, where Ash has finally won a league (I refuse to count the Alola League for two reasons. One, that was hardly a real league. Two, Ash never went to Alola in my canon, so there!). And now Team Flare descends onto Lumiose City. Will things end up as the anime did, or could things go different!? Who knows! Until next time! Toodles!**


	72. Chapter 70: Flaring Catastrophe

The helicopter flew over Lumiose City as it was currently being overrun by huge dark vines, red veins pulsing along them. Smoke rose from various places, the sounds of sirens wailing across the ruined streets. People were fleeing while some lay among the rubble.

"We're live in the air looking down as this horrible scene," Jessie aimed the camera towards the city through the open door while James had one arm held around her middle so she wouldn't fall. "While many flee for safety, an untold number of citizens are likely hurt or worse. There is no sign of the vines stopping as they continue to overrun the city. From what we can tell, they seemed to have originated from the Prism Tower. It has been strongly advised to move away from the tower when fleeing. We will continue to provide coverage at the risk of our own lives!"

"Oh Zeno," Jessie breathed as she lowered the camera slightly, gazing out at the hellish scene. "Please be okay."

...

"Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted as he ran through the broken hallways of the Kalos League stadium, jumping over a protruding vine. Pikachu spun around, blasting the advancing Pokemon with the Electric attack, stopping the Flare grunts from pursuing for a moment.

"C'mon Pikachu," Ash called back to his Pokemon and the Mouse Pokemon ran to catch up to his trainer. Soon they saw several more people rushing out the main doors and into the sun. Ash and Pikachu stopped as they gazed at Lumiose, the large thick vines spreading across the city. "What is happening!?"

He jerked his head up at the sound of a voice coming from a speaker. _"The damages that started around the Prism Tower due to the outbreak of strange vines are still spreading. When evacuating, please make sure to move away from Prism Tower."_

Ash looked towards the tower and saw something glowing red near the top. It stood at the edge, overlooking the city. "Is that..."

"Zygarde."

Ash turned and exclaimed, "Alain! You okay?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, fine."

Before anything else could be said, a vine broke through the ground in front of them.

"Pikachu," Ash held out his hand. "Iron Tail!" Pikachu leaped into the air and swung his tail, slicing through the vine. As it crashed to the side, several Sludge Bombs slammed into the ground just in front of both Ash and Alain.

"What-!?" Ash waved away the smoke, seeing the green-haired Team Flare scientist standing atop the severed vine alongside a Drapion. "You! The ones who wanted Squishy!"

"Ah, so you do remember," she chuckled. "But we don't need that creature just yet. What we want, is you."

"Me?" Ash took a step back, confused as Pikachu's cheeks crackled with electricity in front of him.

"Alain," the scientist turned to look at him. "The Director wants you at the Prism Tower as well."

"Wait," Ash turned to look at his friend. "You... know these people?"

Alain didn't look at Ash as the scientist laughed. "Know us? I would say he's a colleague."

"Oh, and Alain," Bryony adjusted her green visor. "She's being transported over to the tower as we speak. It would be best if you continued to comply."

"Alain," Ash grabbed Alain's hand. "Don't believe what they're saying. We need to go!"

Alain tugged his hand free and Ash stumbled slightly. In that instant, several Team Flare grunts appeared alongside their Pokemon.

"Drapion, Confuse Ray!"

Ash and Pikachu didn't have time to react as the attack hit them both and both fell to the ground.

"Alain..." Ash managed to get out as he fell to his knees. "What on... earth is..." Then darkness overcame him and he saw no more.

As Bryony gave the order to grab both Ash and Pikachu, Alain gripped a fist, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

...

"C'mon, we have to get to Prism Tower," Alex ordered as she and the others ran through the broken streets, avoiding the vines best they could.

"But what about Ash?" Serena gasped. "And Zeno!?"

"They'll be fine," Robert promised. "Knowing them, if they're in trouble, they're bound to make it a lot worse for whoever is against them."

"Agreed," Clemont nodded. "But we have to get to my gym!"

"Oh Squishy," Bonnie whimpered, her grip on her bag tight.

_"Dear Kalos region, as well as the whole world:"_

All five of them came to a sudden halt as they stared at a large TV on the side of a building that hadn't been destroyed. Lysandre was being shown, speaking.

_"My name is Lysandre. Team Flare, which was formed under my will, hereby declares: We will rebuild this world into a more beautiful place."_ The screen changed, showing an image of the red Zygarde on Prism Tower._ "This Pokemon is called Zygarde. It is a legendary Pokemon that surveys order in Kalos. We have joined forces with the tutelary Zygarde as guardians of order."_

"Oi, they're stealing our schtick!" Robert exclaimed and Alex slapped his head.

_"Zygarde is angered by the actions of humanity and Pokemon. The order of this world is already disturbed. Humans are nothing but fools. When there is only one of something, they refuse to share it. And when they can't share it, they'll fight over it. And when something is fought over, some must survive without it. The only way to create a world where people live in beauty, a world without conflict or theft, is to reduce the number of lives. Only the chosen ones will live to see tomorrow! We, Team Flare, together with Zygarde's rage, will carry out the punishment. As its order has been disturbed, we will reset this world and create a beautiful world!"_

...

"Why?" The young girl blinked up at the screen, wide-eyed.

"Mairin," the Flare grunt clasped his hands behind his back as he stood behind her. "We must continue on our way to Lysandre as instructed."

"No," Mairin spun around, trying to back away. "I won't!"

The grunt sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why do I get stuck with the kid? Look, we're doing all this for the sake of peace. Don't you wish to grow up in a safer world than this one?" He reached out for her. "Now come on or I'll-!"

"NO!" Mairin cried out.

A hand grabbed the grunt's wrist and he looked to see Professor Sycamore with a tight hold on him.

"Forcing a lady to do something she doesn't want to do, I can't say I care much for that." He smiled, pulling the grunt forwards before slamming a fist into his face, snapping his red glasses.

"Augh!?" The Flare grunt stumbled backwards, sending out a Skorupi. "You know how much this cost!? Skorupi, Pin Missile!"

"Garchomp!" Sycamore sent out the Dragon type. "Dragon Claw!"

Garchomp slashed through the attack, triggering a small blast and obscuring them in smoke. When it cleared, the Professor, Mairin, and Garchomp had disappeared.

The grunt groaned, throwing off his glasses. "Great, how am I going to explain this..."

...

"Flamethrower!"

"Seed Bomb!"

Both Ninetales and Chesnaught fired their attacks, destroying the vines that had risen in front of them.

"We need to keep moving," Alex grimaced. "We're almost there."

"Watch out!" Robert shouted, pointing behind them as more vines rose above them. "Chesnaught, Pin Missile!"

The Grass type blasted the vine with the projectiles, barely stopping it. Something sliced downwards, severing the vine, before landing on the ground. Heliolisk stood up as a Robot came to stand next to it.

"Clembot!" Clemont and Robert both exclaimed at the same time.

"Clemont, I am sorry to keep you waiting," Clembot spoke in his robotic tone.

"Thank you, Heliolisk," Bonnie smiled as Clembot said, "If my master is in trouble, I will come to him no matter where he is!"

"I do love your robot, Clemont," Robert grinned. "I need to make one of my own one day. Dunno if I'll give the AI I'll make a body, but I'm going to call it... Robert Aspen Mark II!"

"Yeah yeah," Alex interrupted the geek talk before it could go on any longer. "We need to keep mov-!"

Another vine burst through the ground feet away from her, but before it could do anything, a Mega Blaziken slammed his blazing foot through it.

"That was a close one!" Blaziken Mask called down to them from a rooftop before jumping down to join the group.

"Blaziken Mask," Clemont stepped forwards. "The source of this incident seems to be at Prism Tower. If we can stop whatever is happening there, we can save Lumiose."

"Hm," Blaziken Mask nodded, stepping past them in the direction of the tower. "Then I'll go. You all should turn back. This won't be a place for children."

"That's my gym, I have to go!" Clemont responded with unshakable determination.

"And Squishy!" Bonnie put in.

"We're going, all of us," Alex told the hero. "And unless you're going to try to stop us, you'd better let us come with. I mean, if we're going to go, won't we be safer with you?"

Blaziken Mask sighed. "Fine. I can see I won't change any of your minds. Come along then! We don't have time to waste!"

...

Lysandre surveyed the city from atop Prism Tower, smiling at the sight. "My plans with the Ultimate Weapon may have failed, but this time, I will bring about a new, more beautiful world."

He watched as a group of people approached the tower and engaged his two scientists. Then Z1 finally transformed into Zygarde, facing against the red Zygarde that had dropped from the tower to fight it.

"Soon," he thought as he turned back to Alain and Ash. "Soon the new world will be upon us."

...

Alex glanced behind her, seeing Robert and Clemont hold off the scientists as she, Serena, Mairin, and the Professor took off to find a vehicle to get to a secret Lysandre Lab that Mairin knew the rough location of. Her Chespin was trapped there and it was also a place that needed to be shut down. Blaziken Mask had run after Bonnie when she went after Squishy, who had turned out to be Zygarde as well.

Shaking her head to clear the confusion, Alex prayed that Zeno was alright. She had seen no sign of him nor heard anything from him since the attack on the stadium. She knew he could take care of himself, but she worried all the same.

The sound of chopper blades above them made them stop and look. A helicopter was descending towards them, Jessie waving at them with a camera on her shoulder. "Need a lift!?"

...

**Secret Lysandre Labs, located on the Northwestern coast of Kalos **

I groaned, blinking away the spots dancing in front of my eyes. I tried moving my limbs, but they were stuck in place. Shaking my head, I looked around. Four orbs were clasped around my hands and feet, suspending me in the air. The same seemed to have been done to my Pokemon as well. Arcanine, Greninja, Lucario, Mawile, Corviknight, and Bisharp were all either held up by orbs or had tights bands wrapped around them to keep them from moving.

We were in a large metal room, computer monitors set up around me and only one door a dozen feet away. It was dimly lit and the red-haired scientist smiled as she noticed I was awake. Grunts sat at the computers, typing away as she walked closer to me.

"Finally awake are we?" She grinned. "Unlike Ash, Lysandre said we wouldn't have a use for you since he has Ash and his Bond Phenomenon with Greninja. So, I thought I would take some initiative and extract the Bond Phenomenon from you before letting the energy kill you and Greninja."

"Is that all?" I growled, clenching my fists within the orbs.

"Ash and you are potentially the chosen ones that can lead the new world," she said, waving her hand about. "But Lysandre doesn't want to waste the effort of trying to control your Bond Phenomenon. He'd rather see you dead." She stepped closer, tracing a finger along my face. "But, if I can extract your Bond Phenomenon, Lysandre is sure to be pleased."

She turned swiftly. "Start the process!"

Two metal fly machines flew up in front of me and Greninja, and before I could say anything, we were both blasted with red energy. Greninja and I yelled in pain, my whole body feeling like it was on fire.

"Don't worry about the pain too much, you'll be dead soon anyway!" Aliana exclaimed proudly. "And at least you can die knowing Ash will be the chosen one destined to lead the new world! One rid of all the current filthy humans! Only Team Flare and the chosen ones will see the beautiful future in store!"

I heard my Pokemon cry out beside me, struggling to break free to help both Greninja and I. I clenched my jaw, trying to ignore the searing pain. "You seriously think Ash will give a damn about being the chosen one!?" I spoke through gritted teeth, ignoring the pain coursing through my body. "You think he'll let everyone he loves die!?" I glared up at them. "You clearly don't know him at all!"

"Quiet!" The scientist ordered, glaring at me. "You'll be dead soon anyway, so you don't have a say in anything!"

I gasped as the pain increased, but met the scientist's gaze. "And there's that." I tightened my fists within the orbs. "If you think I'll just sit back and let you all kill me while everyone is in danger, then you got another thing coming!" My head was pounding, but I could feel my soul crying out, connecting with another. "If you think for one moment you got us beat, that the world is finished, then you've clearly been underestimating me and my friends! I'll tell you right now! DON'T SCREW WITH US!"

The sound of our heartbeats reached their crescendo and both Greninja and I yelled as energy blasted around us both. The room shook as water blasted the floor and ceiling. Within the torrent, we strained our bodies to the limits, the orbs shattering as we were freed. We both roared as our bond spiked and the water surged outwards. Team Flare was flung against the walls, the machines exploding as the energy collided with them. We both landed on the floor gently, the water circling around Greninja for a moment before forming his cloak and daggers.

"Now then," I pulled off my tattered trench, narrowing my eyes. "Let's down to business shall we."

**Alright folks, we're counting down now. Just 12 chapters to go from here before the book ends. Now, most of you likely recognize what's going on from the XYZ anime. But, is that all that's going to happen between now and the end? Or do I have something else up my sleeve? Until the next update! Toodles!**


	73. Chapter 71: Battle for Prism Tower

Robert pursed his lip, tapping away at his device as Clemont and Clembot battled the two Flare scientists behind him. He heard the scientists cry out as the door beeped and opened.

"We're in!" Robert exclaimed, turning around to see both enemies hanging from metallic rope. Clemont, Clembot, and their Pokemon were hurrying over.

"Great!" Clemont rushed past him. "We need to-"

"Clemont," Robert pointed in the distance, where Zygarde was being held by several vines, struggling to break free. Then a burst of red energy came from above, originating from Prism Tower and blasting the Legendary Pokemon. Now there were two red Zygardes, both under the control of Team Flare.

"We have to hurry and override whatever machine they're using to control Zygarde," Clemont said as Robert turned to follow. "It won't just be Lumiose in danger if we can't do that."

The group slid to a halt in front of an elevator door. "Any chance of those working?" Clemont asked Clembot.

"Nuh-uh," Robert shook his head. "Even if they are, bad idea. We don't want them to get us stuck in there or have us fall a long way down to our deaths. Nope, I'd rather take the stairs." He hurried further down the hall and pulled open a door, revealing the stairwell. "Come on!"

They hurried up the stairs, only to find several Flare grunts ready and waiting.

"Pin Missile!"

"Flamethrower!"

"Thunderbolt!"

"Chesnaught!" Robert threw out the Kalos started further up the stairs. "Spiky Shield!"

Chesnaught raised both arms, protecting himself and those behind him with the shield.

"Thunderbolt!" Clembot raised his arm and Heliolisk blasted the Drapion and Houndoom with electricity.

"Use Mud Shot and Pin Missile!" Clemont ordered and Bunnelby and Chespin blasted Manectric into the wall, creating a dent. Luxray bounded past Chesnaught, slamming into Drapion while surrounded by electricity. Chesnaught drew back both fists, slamming each one into Houndoom and Manectric, knocking both out.

"Now would be a good time to run," Robert advised the grunts, wagging a finger. They all scrambled backwards, returning their Pokemon as they ran up the stairs.

"Now we follow!" Robert began running. "They're bound to lead us to more big shots!"

"Genius!" Clemont complimented him.

...

"That's it! I give up!" One of the grunts threw the cards down, folding his arms as he leaned back in his chair. "I hate playing you guys."

"Man, I am good at this game," the second grunt chuckled.

"A million on Joe," a grunt said as he watched the game of Poker. "He's insanely good at this game."

All head turned instantly as the door to the stairwell burst open and three grunts came running out.

"Hey," Joe leaned back in his chair. "What's your problem?"

"Hello ladies and gentlemen," Robert walked through the door, giving a little bow,surveying the room. It was the generator room, but a table had been set up near the back wall, where several Flare grunts were playing Poker while several others watched. "I'm back."

"Hey," one of the grunts exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. "It's Rob! You forget your suit again or something?"

"Huh?" Robert blinked as his Pokemon and friends burst out of the door to stand by his side. "Oh, right. Sorry, but I was never a part of Team Flare. I tricked you guys good huh."

Silence followed, then the sound of someone slamming their hand on the table made everyone jump. "Yes!" A grunt shouted, whooping. "I won!"

A blast of electricity incinerated the table and the grunts immediately went for their Pokeballs. "That's it!" Joe growled, letting out his Houndoom. "That was my deck! Houndoom, Fire Fang!"

Houndoom lunged for Robert, but Chesnaught swung out his arm and the Fire type bit down, making the Grass type cry out. He swung his arm up before slamming Houndoom into the floor. Heliolisk and Luxray rushed past them, blasting two bolts of electricity at a Golbat and Weavile, but the Weavile managed to dodge. The Golbat was struck by the twin attacks and was blasted away. Weavile formed a dark blade and ran forwards, slashing it against Heliolisk before being knocked back by Chespin's Pin Missile. She shook her head, ready to spring when Chesnaught appeared over her, swinging down a glowing arm, slamming her into the floor.

"Hold them off!" Robert shouted, springing over the fallen Weavile and he went over to a computer attached to the wall. He began typing furiously, then frowned. "Clemont, we got a problem!"

"Yeah?" Clemont hurried over as the Pokemon battled.

Robert jabbed the screen. "I was hoping we could just shut off the power, but they seem to have their own generator. There's a power source two floor above us where the controlly thingamajig is. We'll have to shut it off manually."

"Then that's what we'll do," Clemont's face darkened. "I _will _take back my gym."

Both quickly leaped out of the way as a grunt went flying past into the computer. Glancing around, the grunts seemed to have been taken care of.

"Onwards and upwards it is," Robert scrambled to his feet and both he and Clemont alongside their Pokemon rushed for the stairwell. They burst onto the floor above, a gust of wind blowing their blond hair back as they entered the large room. A huge gun-like machine was situated in the center of the room while the whole area was basked in reddish light from the setting sun thanks to the gaping whole in the back wall where the weapon was pointing out of. Two Team Flare grunts took up position, grabbing their Pokeballs.

Clembot's eyes glowed. "I am detecting three hostiles."

"Good work, Clembot," Clemont praised him. "You know what to do."

Clembot nodded and hurried off to the side, sticking to the shadows to get closer to the machine. The grunts sent out a Drapion and Houndoom, both of which unleashed their attacks. Chesnaught raised his arms, his Spiky Shield blocking them.

"Luxray," Clemont shot out his hand. "Wild Charge!"

"Chesnaught," Robert shouted. "Needle Arm!"

Houndoom was blasted backwards as Luxray rammed into him and Chesnaught slammed Drapion to the ground with his arm. The grunts took a couple steps backwards before Chesnaught managed to grab both and slam them to the ground.

"I'll help hack the machine," Robert said, but before he could do anything, someone slammed into him and he was flung to the ground. He groaned as the person straightened. Clad in a black suit with a metallic helmet with a glowing screen, there was no face to be seen, except for an E displayed on the helmet. They slammed a fist into the floor, cracking it, then it broke, sending both them and Robert down to the next level.

"Robert!" Clemont shouted, hurrying to the hole.

"Oh dear, it seems like your friend is done for." Another person stepped out from behind the machine, clapping his hands excitedly. More on the heavy side and pale as can be, he grinned. "I am the Chief Scientist of Team Flare. My name is Xerosic. Now I see all that stands in the way of victory is just a mere boy."

Clemont glared at him, Chesnaught, Luxray, Chespin, Bunnelby, and Heliolisk coming to stand beside him. He raised a fist, his Pokemon preparing their attacks. "Mere boy!? I am the Gym Leader of Lumiose City and I won't let Team Flare destroy the world!"

...

Robert groaned, lifting himself up. His hands shot to his body, and he sighed in relief, glad to find he wasn't broken anywhere. He glanced down, seeing he had landed on something soft.

"Thanks Snorlax," He slid off, only to see someone else standing up several feet away in the dim room. The E on her helmet gave off eerie vibes, which had Robert taking a couple steps back. Machines connected to the walls around them blinked in the darkness, haunting beeping sounds coming from them.

Snorlax managed to lift himself to his feet, glaring angrily at the strange individual. She held up a pokeball, letting out a Malamar. It lashed its tentacles towards Robert, but Snorlax stepped in the way, taking the attack. He charged forwards, flattening the Psychic type in the wall as the sounds of machines breaking filled the room along with sparking. The woman shot forwards and Robert barely had time to send out a second Pokemon. Their large body made the woman bounce backwards where she skidded along the floor, somehow managing to stay on both feet.

"Bewear," Robert's hand shot out. "Hammer Arm!"

Bewear lunged, only to get knocked backwards by Snorlax, who had been propelled backwards by the use of Psychic powers. Robert dived to the side as to not get crushed by his own Pokemon, lifting himself up on all fours. He went for another pokeball, but it was sucked out of his hand and landed neatly in the woman's.

Robert stood, shocked as well as impressed. "Who are you? Not a robot I'm pretty sure. But that's a highly advanced suit."

The woman didn't answer, but the pokeball she had stolen from Robert glowed red before opening, releasing his Alolan Muk. The Poison type's eyes were glowing red and Robert instantly knew this wasn't a good sign. "Bewear, use Brutal Swing! Snorlax, Amnesia! Muk, sorry for this!"

Bewear shot forwards, swinging one huge arm. A dark wind battered both Muk and Malamar, slamming them both backwards as Snorlax raised his Special Defense. Robert whipped out his device, typing with furious speed. The woman was dodging Bewear's attacks easily, but was struggling to get close to Robert. Finally, the blonde grinned.

"And let's do this!" He jabbed a button and the woman's suit sparked and her whole body twitched as Robert's pokeball fell from her. The glow died from Muk's eyes and he instantly turned on Malamar, blasting him backwards with a Gunk Shot.

"This ain't over yet!" Robert shouted, tapping a couple more buttons and the suit sparked again, making the woman stumbled backwards. An agonizing metallic scream yelled from within before she slammed a fist backwards, cracking the wall.

"Wait!" Robert yelled, rushing forwards, but another slam and the wall broke outwards. He skidded, barely managing to stop himself from falling into open air after the woman. He peered out, but didn't see her anywhere. An explosion made him look up, seeing smoke billowing out of the floor above. He ducked back inside as something fell past and returned his Pokemon all except for Bewear. Once lifted onto the floor above, Robert returned the Fighting type.

"I assume all went well up here," Robert said, the grin dying from his face as he saw the smoking remain of Clembot, Clemont having collapsed to his knees beside him, tears streaking down his face. A flash of red light made him glance back at the city outside of the tower, where he could see Zygarde shrinking as green lights flew from his body.

"Clemont," Robert kneeled next to his friend, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He did it. Clembot saved us all."

Clemont didn't say a word and Robert took another look around, not seeing the scientist anywhere. With him and that strange woman missing, there were sure to be loose ends when all this was over.

...

"The other one has been released as well," Malva noted with satisfaction.

"It seems like you failed, Lysandre," Ash turned back to the Leader of Team Flare as night fell around them atop Prism Tower. Alain stood by Ash's side, his Charizard stepping forwards once more to face the Shiny Mega Gyarados. "We won."

Lysandre smiled. "Just how much do you plan on entertaining me with?" His Gyarados roared, preparing to attack as the battle atop Prism Tower neared its conclusion.

...

"The base is in sight!" Jessie exclaimed as the helicopter flew through the night sky.

Alex glanced out the window to see the base not to far in the distance, situated on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean on one side and surrounded by lush trees on the other. As they neared, Alex glanced at Jessie, who was piloting the aircraft. "Um, I think we got company." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the helicopter lurched as several ice projectiles hit the rotors. Everyone inside screamed as the helicopter began its crash course towards the landing platform below. An explosion and plume of fire lit the night sky, smoke rising up to the stars.

...

A figure lay in the dark depths of an alley, the screen on the mask glitching and sparking. A shadow fell across her as a hand reached down to grab her. "We're not finished with you yet, Essentia."

**Man, these 2000+ chapters feel weird after writing over 7000 for a chapter... Oh well. The disaster seems to have been stopped in Lumiose, but there's the matter of this Flare Base. And the fact that some characters may have just died... Heh, till next time. Toodles!**


	74. Chapter 72: Signalling the End

"You know, this same situation happened to me once before," I grumbled as Greninja blasted the door apart and me and my Pokemon were treated to a sight of several Grunts heading my way. "And the first time was bad enough, being underwater and all. But having this happen to me again really ticks me off." I took a step forwards. "Arcanine, Extreme Speed!" The Fire type sped into the grunts and their Pokemon, knocking them off their feet. Lucario and Mawile leaped into the hallway, taking down any Pokemon that tried to get back up.

I stepped past the groaning grunts and fainted Pokemon, the hallways bathed in a red glow as a siren wailed. "We're going to have a lot of company guys. So get ready."

We rushed down the next hallway, several grunts turning a corner twenty feet ahead. "Corviknight, Brave Bird!" The Steel type soared forwards, knocking them down like pins. A Drapion was released as they went down and I skidded to a halt as Greninja surged forwards, slamming a Water Shuriken down on his head before swinging a glowing fist upwards, striking him in the chin. He flew into the ceiling before falling back down.

"Lucario," I turned to the Fighting type. "I need to find the Control Room. Spread out your aura. We'll buy you the necessary time." Lucario nodded and spread his palms on the metal floor, his appendages floating in the air. Pounding footsteps alerted me to the impending arrival of more grunts.

"Arcanine, I want a Heat Wave as soon as they enter the hallway," I ordered. "Bisharp, I want you to use Guillotine on any Pokemon that don't go down. Mawile, Corviknight, and Greninja, I have a feeling more people will be arriving from the rear, so keep your guard up."

They nodded and the second wave of grunts hit us from up ahead. Houndooms raced along their sides, but most were blown back by Arcanine's Heat Wave. Those who weren't didn't have enough time to attack as Bisharp ran past, swinging long blades that sliced through the walls. I heard a blast behind me and glanced back to see my other three Pokemon engaging several more grunts and their Houndooms and Weavile.

Once they were all taken care of, Lucario rose, nodding to me. "Great," I nodded, hurrying after him. "All of you, let's go!" We followed Lucario down several hallways, past various doors into what I assumed were laboratories by the name plates that rushed by me. We encountered various grunts along the way, where my Pokemon engaged them quickly enough.

I lunged forwards, grappling a grunt and slamming him into the wall. I twisted my body, swinging my leg up as I caught another in the side. Greninja flew over me, slamming a glowing foot down on a Houndoom, then leaping back as he shot him with several Water Shurikens. I ducked below a fist, grabbing the wrist and yanking it to one side. The grunt yelled in pain as I kicked her feet out from under her and she collapsed onto the ground.

As I stood, I could see Lucario up ahead, backing up from a door as a man stepped out. The same bald admin from the Power Plant cracked his knuckled, his female Charizard lumbering next to him. "Boy, you are a real thorn in Team Flare's side. I'll enjoy killing you myself." He brushed the Flare symbol on his belt, bright light enveloping Charizard. "Mega Evolve!"

"Lucario, Greninja," I held up my knife, pressing my thumb down on the hilt. "Together! Lucario, Mega Evolve!"

Light burst from Lucario as he and Greninja dashed forwards. Heat blasted down the hallway as Charizard flapped her wings. She reared back her head and shot a jet of fire down towards them. Lucario hung back, letting Greninja take the lead as he whipped off his cloak, using it to shield themselves from the attack. Lucario leaped over him, foot ablaze as he twirled and slammed it into Charizard's head. She stumbled back and Greninja used that opportunity to swing himself forwards, wrapping his legs around her neck. He yanked his giant shuriken free and slammed it down on her head and leaped back with half a second to spare as it exploded on her head.

I rushed past the battling Pokemon, ducking as a claw sliced above my head. I rose, swinging a fist as I did so, but the admin caught it in his grasp. He grinned and pulled me towards him. I brought up my elbow and jabbed it into into his wrist and twisted from his grasp. I flipped my knife into the air, grabbing it as I slammed my foot into the admin's side. He grunted in pain and slammed himself into me. I stumbled and he grinned, reaching out for the knife. I released my grip on it and let it fall. His attention distracted for that single moment allowed me to grab his wrist and twist it painfully. He yelped as I pulled myself forwards, driving my knees into his chest. I snaked my way around him, pulling him into a choke hold from behind. He struggled for a couple moments before he finally lost conscious.

Greninja leaped away as the claws sliced through the wall with scraping noises. Lucario went low, driving a fist into Charizard's knee. She cried in pain as she was forced to kneel. Greninja slammed a sphere of water into her back as Lucario manipulated the aura around him to add force to the attack. She was driven to the ground with a mighty boom, where she fainted and reverted back to her normal form.

I grabbed my knife and slid it back into its sheath as all six of my Pokemon came forwards. Nodding to them, I kicked open the door to the control room. Monitors lined one wall with several desks with keyboards. A main control panel was situated beneath the monitors, where the red-haired admin stood. Several grunts stood up immediately as we strode in while the female admin stepped forwards angrily. "How did you get past Darell!?"

"Just like how we'll get past all of you," I said, as Arcanine padded forwards, growling menacingly. "I'll give you one chance to run."

"Hah," she laughed. "As if anyone here would run. We are awaiting the New World that will come upon us. There's no way we'd let someone like you stop us."

As I glanced around, I could tell not every grunt in the room looked like they wanted to take me on, but none of them were leaving. I snapped my fingers and my Pokemon took up their positions beside me, Lucario still Mega Evolved and Greninja still in his bond form. "Alright, you had your chance. Let's take them!"

...

"Incoming!" James yelled and the helicopter lurched. Smoke billowed from the rotors as they began to fall. Alex clung desperately to the door as Serena and Mairin did the same to the other door. Professor Sycamore held on to the back of Jame's seat, but there seemed to be only one way this ride would end.

Then, all was still. Alex blinked. "O-okay. Anyone here let out a Psychic type?"

Everyone shook their head as Alex peered out the window. A pink aura was surrounding the helicopter, lowering it gently to the ground. Squinting, Alex thought she could make out a figure standing atop a large Pokemon, floating down with them.

"Who is...!" Alex's breath caught in her throat, staring in wide-eyed shock at the new arrival. "No way!"

Mairin stumbled over to Alex's window, exclaiming, "It's him! Steven Stone!"

...

"Well now," the figure stepped off his Shiny Mega Metagross onto the concrete platform, facing the blue-haired Flare scientist Mable as the helicopter was gently lowered to the ground behind him. "I'm glad I had the thought to stop by here before Lumiose." His gaze hardened as he held out his hand. "Meteor Mash!"

Metagross' slammed all four legs together, a blue aura flaring up around him. Both Mable and her Weavile leaped to one side as the Steel type went zooming past into the warehouse behind her. An explosion rocked the area, fire and smoke billowing into the sky above. The dual Steel/Psychic type returned back to Steven as the passengers of the helicopter stumbled out.

"Oh hubba hubba." Jessie was practically drooling at the sight of the man outlined by the fire, starting to walk towards him.

"Oh get a grip will you," James grumbled, holding onto the back of her shirt to keep her in place.

"Mr. Champion!" Mairin cried as she and Professor Sycamore hurried over.

"It's great to see you here," Sycamore nodded to Steven.

The Champion of Hoenn sighed, gazing at the fire. "It would seem Lysandre had tricked us all. I had seen the previous incident regarding him weeks earlier, but since he came back, I decided a quick visit was needed."

"We have to get inside!" Mairin pointed towards the main building. "Chespie is in there!"

Steven exchanged a knowing glance with Sycamore.

"What?" Serena asked as she, Alex, and the Rocket Trio came over. "What is it?"

Steven glanced at the main building. "Aside from Chespie, there's something else in there that worries me. We're going to need to check that out as well."

"Then we'd better hurry," Alex was already heading towards where they needed to go. "I don't know what's going on in Lumiose, but I have a feeling whatever is in there needs to be stopped before this whole mess is over."

"Right you are," Sycamore nodded to the Champion and everyone began running, James having to shake Jessie out of her daydreams before they followed.

...

I pressed my arm further into the admin's neck as I held her against the wall, her weakening hands uselessly trying to grip my wrist. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and I finally let her drop to the ground. Behind me, my Pokemon had finally finished taking care of the grunts and their Pokemon, the Mega Houndoom that belonged to the red-haired admin having been blown through the back wall and hadn't returned since.

I headed over to the control panel, which was thankfully mostly intact from the battle. Only a few monitors had been cracked and only one showed a fuzzy screen. Trying to find my way around all the buttons and switched, I finally began flicking through several cameras around the facility. I stopped once the feed showed a small hospital like room where a Chespin lay on a bed, hooked to an IV as his body glowed green. I scrolled through the rest of the feeds quicker than before, catching as much as I could and already forming a layout of the area in my head.

"We need to hurry and get to that Chespin," I told my Pokemon. "I don't like the looks of him." I turned to them and held out three pokeballs, returning Mawile, Bisharp, and Corviknight, all of whom being Steel types had taken a lot of fire damage. Lucario, while being one himself, looked to be mostly fine, so I kept him out.

Glancing once more at the monitors, I grinned as one caught my eye. It showed the main entrance, where several Flare grunts were being pushed back by a familiar group of people. "Looks like it isn't just us anymore boys. Let's see if we can meet them on the way."

...

As it turned out, we reached Chespin's room just moments after everyone else did. Three grunts with their Houndooms were trying to hold the hallway, but they weren't prepared for an attack from behind. Greninja and I rushed forwards as one. I kicked a grunts legs out from beneath him, slamming him to the ground as Greninja slammed a fist into one's back while flipping over him to slice his blade along a Houndoom. The third grunt whirled around in time for me to slam a fist into his stomach and a kick into his side. Greninja had engaged the second Fire type, slamming a sphere of water into his face before slashing with two water blades, sending him flying backwards. The third Houndoom crashed into his side, one of his blades flying through the air. I lunged for it, hands closing around the cool handle. I slashed as I rushed past, the Houndoom crying out in pain before Greninja silenced him into unconsciousness with a swift punch to the face.

We stood, facing Alex's group. I raised a hand in greeting. "Alola."

Alex slammed into me with a hug. "Somehow I had a feeling you were going to show up." She sighed. "I'm glad you're okay."

I closed my eyes, allowing myself to take a moment to bask in the moment. "I'm glad to see you're alright as well, Alex."

"ZENO!" Jessie joined the hug, making it a lot harder to breath.

When Alex and I were finally freed, Mairin and the Professor rushed out of a room, Mairin holding the glowing Chespin to her chest. The one person I didn't recognize stepped past us. "Come on. We should hurry to the lab below."

"Wait, hold on," Serena fumbled for her Holo Caster. She listened for a moment before nodding. "I'll do that."

"What was it?" Alex asked.

"Clemont and Robert managed to free Zygarde," she answered, slightly shocked. "But... a price was made." She shook her head sadly as she pressed a few more buttons, then waited. Ash's voice soon spoke from it.

_"Serena?"_

"Ash, we're at Team Flare's base in Northern Kalos," she said. "And I need you to check on Clemont. He should be a couple floors below you."

_"Alright," _Ash said and before Serena could end the call, he said, _"We won here as well. But... __Lysandre__ threw himself off the building."_

The man I didn't know shook his head at the news and motioned for us all to follow. "Come on, we need to check on the Megalith."

"Megalith?" I asked as we followed him. "And who are you?"

He glanced back. "My name is Steven Stone. I'm the Champion of Hoenn. As for the Megalith," He continued. "It's something Lysandre found and has been doing research on. It has a sort of primal energy, akin to Mega Evolution. I don't know what Team Flare has been using it for, but considering what Lysandre has been up to, I need to know if it's a possible threat."

I nodded and slowed so I could walk next to Alex. "Where's Clara and Preston?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. When we got out of the stadium, they weren't with us."

"Great," I rubbed the back of my head. "Though, I shouldn't worry. Clara can take care of herself. And if Preston is with her, he'll be fine." Even as I said that, I still had my fears.

Steven led us down a flight of stairs, his Metagross blowing open a lab door into a circular room with a holographic control panel. A giant rock floated in the center of the room, glittering with different colors as Steven began typing.

"Hm," The Champion pursed his lip. "This is... What the-!"

The rock began to glow and we all stepped backwards as red light emanated from it. Mairin yelped as Chespin was ripped from her arms and floated towards the rock. I quickly rushed forwards, grabbing onto his foot, but he was pulled away and sucked into the rock as if it were water, the surface rippling before becoming jagged once more. Sirens went off around us and Steven yelled, "RUN!"

...

We were all breathing heavily by the time we made it outside, then we heard an explosion. We all turned back to see something emerging from the base, towering over the landscape.

"Zygarde!?" Alex gasped.

"No," Steven shook his head grimly as the Megalith began moving towards the nearby forest, huge vines erupting from the ground as he went. "Something worse."

"Well, this isn't the time to be gawking," I said as I made my way over to an airship as Team Flare began evacuating the base. "Jessie, James! You're piloting. Let's go!"

They saluted, and along with Meowth and Wobbuffet, ran onto the aircraft and took the controls. I looked back at my group hurrying over. Then I looked back up at the retreating Megalith. Whatever that was, whatever it was going to do, I knew we had to stop it. Whatever the cost.

**Double Update! Woo! Been a while since I've done this! After finishing Chapter 72, I just got really motivated to write more, so I did. Man, just 10 chapters left to go... Then LDOC will be over... Man, it's been a wild ride so far. But it ain't over yet, not by a long shot! Toodles!**


	75. Chapter 73: Last Desperate Assault

"Ash, can you hear me?" I spoke into the ship radio as we flew just behind the Megalith as it advanced across rough terrain, creating a groove in the earth as it went. The vines seemed to act like its legs, pulling itself along at a constant speed.

Crackling noise met my question, then, _"Zeno?"_

I nodded back to the others to signal that we were in contact. "Are you on your way?"

_"Yeah,"_ Ash said. _"What are we dealing with?"_

Steven came over, nodding to me, so I stepped back and let him take control. "It seems that the Megalith is heading towards the Sundial in Anistar City."

A different voice suddenly came over the speaker. _"Mairin? Is Mairin there!?"_

"Alain!" Mairin cried, rushing over.

_"Oh thank Arceus,"_ Alain sighed in relief, then his tone became serious. _"What happened over there?"_

Steven cleared his throat. "Chespin was sucked into the Megalith, who seems to be the Giant Rock's power supply. I did a quick simulation run of what'll happen if it comes into contact with the Sundial." He hesitated for a moment. "It seems like it'll create an energy wave that'll kill all life on the planet."

_"What!?"_ Robert exclaimed while Alain said,_ "So this is Lysandre's last ditch effort to make sure his plans succeed."_

"It seems so," Steven nodded. "I don't think I need to say this, but we need to stop that thing at all costs before it reaches the Sundial."

_"We'll be there," _Ash promised.

"Good," Steven stepped away and turned to face all of us. Alex came to stand next to me while Sycamore headed towards the door. "We'll need aerial Pokemon to try to slow that thing down before we can land. I hate to ask this of ones so young, but we need all the help we can get."

Alex, Serena, and I nodded. Sycamore pulled open the side door, wind blowing past. Plateaus rushed by below, the cool night air soothing despite the desperate situation we were in.

"Garchomp!" Sycamore shouted as Steven yelled, "Metagross!" They both released their Pokemon and Mega Evolved them right away. Serena called out her Braixen to stand atop Metagross' head while Alex sent out Vespiquen and Frosmoth. I launched my pokeball into the air and Corviknight dived towards the Megalith.

"Hyper Beam! Flash Cannon! Flamethrower! Attack Order and Bug Buzz! Air Slash!"

The combined power of the moves blasted against the front of the Megalith, hardly slowing it down. Several vines shot upwards from beneath it and all Pokemon made to evade it. Corviknight was hit in the wing by one and I was forced to return him before he crashed to the ground. Vespiquen used Defend Order to protect herself and Frosmoth as they were batted away and Metagross flew upwards to avoid two vines, but one made him wobble in the air, Braixen falling off.

"Braixen!" Serena yelled, reaching for her pokeball. Then something swooped through the air, catching the Fire type on his back. A different Pokemon leaped from its back and sliced through a vine with a glowing tail.

I grinned. "Looks like the cavalry has arrived."

A large helicopter flew out from behind the nearby canyon, the side door opened with Ash and Alain standing together by it. Mega Charizard blasted a jet of blue flames along with Braixen's normal Flamethrower. Pikachu landed back on Charizard and blasted a Thunderbolt, all three attacks incinerating a vine that shot up in front of them.

Their helicopter flew ahead of our aircraft and past the Megalith and both Ash and Alain stepped back as Robert made his way through. Giving us a thumbs up, he opened a pokeball and leaped out of the helicopter. I heard several gasp beside me as Robert landed on top of a huge blue Pokemon. An aura blasted around Wailord as he crashed into the Megalith with a resounding boom! That seemed to slow the Megalith somewhat before vines pushed Wailord away and into the sky. Robert was somehow managing to hang onto his Pokemon as they floated through the air, pushed on by the momentum caused by the vines. Wailord turned in the air and blasted a beam of ice at the Megalith, freezing half of its body.

"You know, I'm not surprised Robert got Wailord to fly." Alex shook her head, sighing. "Freakin' unbelievable."

"But he managed to slow it down," I pointed out. "Jessie! Get us further away onto a flat area! We need group up!" A large crack made my head snap back to the Megalith, seeing it break through the ice and continue on its destructive path. "Oh, not good."

Robert had landed on top of Metagross and returned his floating Wailord before being transported to our airship. "Dang't," he rubbed the back of his head, glancing nervously at the Megalith. "I thought I had it there."

I patted his shoulder. "You did fine. Even if it still moves, we must have done some damage to it." I glanced back at Steven. "Right?"

He nodded. "Anything and everything helps at this point."

"Gah!" Robert yelped as he caught sight of the Champion. "You're Steven Stone! Hoenn's Champion! What are you doing here!?"

He chuckled. "No time for stories, Robert."

Suddenly, I caught site of Ash. He and Greninja were staring at the Megalith, both looking as if they were looking right through it. Moments later, a woman's voice came through the speaker. _"Ash says he has a plan. He's going to need backup."_

"On it," Sycamore responded, then shouted out the door, "Garchomp, assist Greninja!"

"Metagross, you too!" Steven shouted.

"Let's help your brother," I said to Greninja as I released him. "GO!"

As Ash's Greninja leaped from the helicopter, so did mine. Water burst around mine and he transformed. He twirled through the air, slicing through a vine that shot towards him. He ran along another, throwing a shuriken to slice through one that was heading for his brother. Ash's Greninja had spread out his arms and legs, air rushing past. His eyes narrowed, then Ash shouted, "Water Shuriken!" He grabbed his large shuriken and flung it towards the large crystal in the Megalith's chest. It struck home right in the center and my eyes narrowed as I stared at it. I felt my connection with Greninja spike as I began seeing through the Megalith, past glowing crystals and right to the core, where Chespin was held up by several crystals.

"I see," I nodded and turned back to my group. "Chespin's behind that shuriken! That's where we need to aim for."

Sycamore and Steven didn't need to be told twice. "Garchomp, use Hyper Beam! Metagross, Flash Cannon!"

"Charizard!" I heard Alain shout. "Flamethrower!"

"Greninja!" I shouted. "Cut!"

Greninja formed two blades, slicing through every vine he could. But when he destroyed one, two seemed to replace it. He was slammed backwards and the vine wrapped itself around him. Ash's Greninja made to help him, only to be captured himself. The other Pokemon were blasting their own attacks, beams of energy that disintegrated the vines and fire that burned them to a crisp. But the vines never slowed, quickly overtaking everyone.

"We're not going to be able to keep this up for much longer," Robert pointed out, eyes wide.

Suddenly, a huge blast of energy struck the Megalith in the center, releasing all our Pokemon. I turned to find out where the attack originated from and found myself smiling as I saw the familiar figures in the distance.

"Oh heck yeah!" Robert shouted, pumping his fist into the air, his attitude having completely turned around in just a couple seconds.

Standing atop a plateau in the distance were the rest of Kalos' gym leaders along with Diantha herself. However, despite the large attack, the Megalith emerged from the smoke, its movements slower, but still it trudged on towards the sundial in the distance, water glittering around it.

"Jessie!" I shouted to her once again. "To the gym leaders! We'll come up with a final plan there!"

"On it!" She pushed the accelerator and we zoomed towards them.

...

As we touched down, we joined up with Ash and his group along with Diantha and the gym leaders.

"You came," Alex said to Diantha as the groups merged.

"Of course," she and her Gardevoir looked towards the Megalith, advancing towards us in the distance. "With Kalos and the world in peril, how could I not."

"And us gym leaders couldn't just sit back either," Eric waved at us, Grovyle by his side.

"Not at all," Korrina nodded to Ash as Lucario nodded at my Lucario. "If anyone is to respond to a threat like this, it's gotta be us.

"Gotta say though," Grant nodded appreciatively at the Megalith with his Tyrunt at his side. "That would be one heck of a rock to climb."

"Your head is full of rocks," Viola snorted as she stroked her Vivillon's wing, but she smiled. "Talk about having a hard head."

"Its aura is horrifying," Valerie shuddered, Sylveon crying out in agreement. "We must put a stop to this monstrosity."

Caren fingered her earring as she patted Abomasnow's side. "It's a big fellow certainly. I guess that means we need to go out right away."

"His time is nearly upon us," Olympia murmured, both Meowstics floating on either side of her. Then she glanced at my Greninja, then Ash's. "The brothers have come."

I nodded to Alain. "You've made your choice then."

"Yes," he said firmly as Charizard lumbered up beside him. "I have."

"Good," I smiled slightly. "We could use your strength."

"Everyone!" Diantha stood at the head of the group, looking back at us with Gardevoir at her side. "If that thing reaches the Sundial, everything is over! We all must do what we can to stop it! Our objective is to rescue Chespin from behind that Water Shuriken, which will disable the Megalith! Any questions?"

Determination filled silence met her question as all the gym leaders, Blaziken Mask, and all my friends prepared for battle. She nodded grimly and turned to face the Giant Rock. As one, we began to run. I spared a glance back, seeing that Serena and her Pokemon were staying behind with Mairin and Bonnie. If we were to fail, they would be all that stood against the Megalith if it got past us. If that were to happen, the world would be lost. Shaking my head, I banished the thought and continued to run, Arcanine, Mega Lucario, and Greninja at my side.

The vines struck first, zooming towards us, making us separate. Yells and blasts of energy were all around us, vines being destroyed, but more taking their place. I found myself alongside Alex, her Ninetales and Pyroar, Robert, and his Chesnaught.

"Just like Alola!" Robert grinned, obviously feeling the rush of adrenaline that came along with battle.

"Except this time we got more friends," Alex pointed out. "And at this point, I believe we can get out of any situation just fine."

"Don't jinx us," I groaned as Arcanine blasted vine with Flamethrower. "Just stay safe you two. Don't take unnecessary risks."

Alex smirked. "You're the boss."

With a yell, we put on more speed. Ninetales and Pyroar blasted several vines with bursts of flames, protecting Alex behind them. A vine shot past us, separating Alex from Robert and I.

"Go on ahead!" Robert shouted as more vines shot towards us. "We can handle this here!" He let out his Tyranitar. "Chesnaught, Seed Bomb! Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!"

I pulled myself onto Arcanine's back and we sped away, Lucario and Greninja keeping pace on either side as an explosion sounded from behind. Arcanine blasted a beam of draconic energy as Greninja fired a shuriken, the two attack blasting through a vine. Lucario put on an extra burst of speed as he formed two long bones, slicing through multiple vines that lay in our path. A vine burst from beneath Arcanine, flinging both of us in the air. Greninja leaped, catching me and landing on the ground. I looked back to see Arcanine getting back to his feet, vines heading towards him. His eye caught mine and he seemed to give a nod before racing away, the vines in hot pursuit.

I pushed myself to go on, Greninja and Lucario at my side. I caught a glimpse of Ash and Alain further ahead, trying to push their way through to a wall of vines that separated them from the Megalith. The gym leaders were having a heck of a time trying to pave a way for them, so I nodded to both of my Pokemon and we ran after them.

"Lucario," I yelled, throwing out my hand. "Aura!"

Lucario swung both hands, his aura slicing through several vines, allowing us to gain elevation. He then pushed both Greninja and I away with his aura as more vines slammed into him and went out of sight. Grimacing, Greninja and I continued on. Gritting my teeth, I let myself fully connect with him. Eyes sharpening, we moved as one. Greninja lunged forwards slicing through vines with two blades as I leaped over one and ducked as one shot over my head.

"Greninja!" I shouted, holding out my hand. The Water type nodded and flung back one of his blades. I caught it with my right hand and let my instincts take over. I fought by Greninja's side, slashing and blocking attacks. When Greninja jumped, I did so as well and we both landed on a vine that was shooting towards Ash, Alain, and their Pokemon.

"Incoming!" I warned them, then leaped off with Greninja and we both slashed our blades, slicing through the vine. Charizard turned and blasted the remains with Flamethrower, disintegrating them.

Ash and Alain stopped for a brief moment at the top of a rise, allowing me and Greninja to catch up. The Megalith was before us, but a gap separated us from it. The Water Shuriken stuck in the crystal gleamed, but there was no way to it.

Then as several vines shot towards us, they swerved and began weaving around each other and slammed into the Megalith at the base of the crystal, serving as a bridge. I looked to see Steven and Diantha with their Mega Pokemon, nodding at us. We hurried across the bridge, Charizard blasting a Flamethrower, Pikachu swinging an Electro Ball, and both Greninjas firing their large shurikens. The attacks slammed into the crystal, creating a hole into the Megalith. As Ash, Alain, and their Pokemon leaped through, I had to turn to slice through a vine as it swung towards us, Greninja severing another vine.

For what seemed like forever, we had to fend off the vines. Far in the distance, I could see more vines shooting towards where Serena, Bonnie, and Mairin were. Then, they stopped. The glow died from the Megalith and the vines froze. I turned around in time to see Alain and Ash climbing through, Chespin in Alain's arms.

"You did it," I said with a gasp of relief.

"Yes," Alain managed to smile as he looked down at Chespin. "We did."

...

"Chespie!" Mairin cried, hugging Chespin close. She looked up at Alain, tears sliding down her wide smile. "Thank you, Alain."

Alain smiled warmly and hugged Mairin close. At that moment, I realized why Alain was able to free himself from Team Flare.

We all looked back at the Megalith, standing as still as a rock. Diantha raised her hand and everyone took up position next to their Pokemon. "Fire!" All the attacks streamed forwards, combining into one larger attack and blasted against the Megalith. It groaned as it leaned backwards, about to fall as smoke rose from it. Then the crystals on its body glowed brightly as it whipped back its head, the vines writhing beneath it. A figure walked out of the shadows on top of the Megalith and Alain gasped, "Lysandre!?"

"The time is almost at hand!" Lysandre stood at the edge of the Megalith, looking down at all of us. "The second hand on the clock moves towards the point of no return and there is no stopping it now! Even if I must sacrifice myself to do so, I WILL destroy the world!"

"Lysandre!" Ash shouted. "We won't let you!"

"You can't stop the countdown to destruction!" Lysandre roared, thrusting out his left arm. A copper colored gadget fitted onto his wrist snapped open. As soon as it did, the crystals on the Megalith began to glow brighter.

"Greninja!" I shouted. "Hydro Shield!"

"Light Screen!" Valerie cried. A glittering dome encased us as the Megalith started charging an attack. Greninja threw off his cloak, the bubbles expanding to their absolute limit in front of us. Then a beam of dark red energy fired from the center crystal and blasted against the Light Screen. It held for only a couple seconds before tearing through it and slamming into the Hydro Shield. An explosion ripped past us, knocking us all back. I tumbled across the ground, groaning as the dust settled around me.

I picked myself up, Greninja doing the same several feet in front of me. The ground was cracked and broken, jutting up in some places. As I glanced around, everyone seemed to be alive, though bruised and bleeding was now common. I gritted my teeth and looked back at the Megalith.

"DAD!?"

I turned my head to see both Clemont and Bonnie staring wide-eyed at Blaziken Mask, who seemed to have used himself to shield them, as he looked more beat-up than them. His mask had broken apart, revealing him to be Meyer, Clemont and Bonnie's father. Despite the situation we were all in, I gave a soft laugh. How had they not realized who he was sooner?

The ground jolted and the Megalith began to move, the vines wriggling around it. Everyone got to their feet, all injured, but willing to give it their all to save the world. I grimaced as I stood beside Greninja, the Megalith looming over us.

"We have to destroy it," Alain grunted, holding his right arm.

"Everyone, listen!" Robert shouted as he and Clemont rushed forwards. Clemont pushed his glasses up and pointed towards Lysandre. "That device on his wrist! He's using that to control it!"

"That's all we need to hear," Alex thrust out her hand, Ninetales stepping forwards, mouth aflame.

"Summon up the last of your power everyone!" Diantha shouted. "We must stop it!"

We all rushed forwards, time seeming to slow. But before we could do a thing, another blast of energy sent us all crashing backwards. I struggled to get up this time, glaring up at Lysandre, who was grinning like the madman he truly was. Then, "Squishy, wait!"

"Bonnie, no!" Meyer held back his daughter as she tried to follow Squishy, the tiny green blob that was hopping along with its buddy towards the Megalith. It stopped and Lysandre's expression changed. Was that... apprehension?

Both of the strange Pokemon stopped before the Megalith, glaring up at it with their one eyes. A voice then echoed around the landscape, sounding as if thousands of voices were speaking at once. _"I am Zygarde, Defender of Order!"_ A green aura began to glow from them, energy traveling across the ground, originating from them as it spread into the horizons. _"We will show them, our full power! You won't destroy the world!"_ Thousands of green beams of light shot across the sky, converging on the two Pokemon.

"What's this-!?" Lysandre shouted as he held his arm up in front of him, blinded by the harsh green light.

A beam of green light shot into the sky and the two Pokemon rose up, merging together. A shape began to form within the bright light, becoming bigger. When it died away, Zygarde floated in the air, a massive aura pulsing from him, a sense of calmness spreading across my body. He had a humanoid shape now, four snake-like limbs sprouting from his shoulders and hanging down from his body. Two of them were had a blue coloring while the other two red.

"That is it!" Olympia's eyes were wide. "The form when all has become one!"

"Become one," I echoed, staring at Zygarde in his 100% form.

"Even with the world as it is, full of greed, suffering, and death," Lysandre stepped forwards, staring angrily at Zygarde. "You still hid this form!? You must have seen the world for what is truly is! Humans have sent this world spiraling into the abyss of chaos! How could you ignore that!?" He stood firm and resolute now. "If I had not raised my objections, the world would continue on its warped path! But now you choose to show yourself! What could there possibly be left to defend!? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!"

Zygarde's eyes flashed._ "If it is a right you speak of, this world belongs to them! I have placed my hopes in humanity! They have always protected me!"_ His voice suddenly changed, as if a singular entity was speaking from a colony. "They kept their promise not to leave my side! Now it is my turn!"

Lysandre raised his hand, shouting, "I WILL INCINERATE YOU!" The Megalith began charging up once more, blasting a large beam of energy towards Zygarde.

The four limbs shot upwards, snapping open as four beams of draconic energy blasted forth. They ripped through the beam shot from the Megalith, blasting against the crystal. The ground cracked and shattered as a multitude of vines shot forth towards Zygarde. He blasted into the sky, the vines following. Green energy blasted around the Legendary Pokemon of Order as he zoomed through the vines, ripping them into tiny ribbons as he smashed into the Megalith's center. He blasted it again with four blasts of Dragon Pulse, pushing the Giant Rock away.

"IMPUDENT FOOL!" Lysandre roared, raising his left arm.

"Now!" Ash shouted. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Greninja, Water Shuriken!"

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Alain thrust out his hand as I yelled, "Greninja, Water Shuriken!"

The attacks collided with Lysandre's device, shattering it and making him stumble backwards in pain. "NO!" He yelled, holding his wrist. "It can't be! Not after all of my meticulous planning!"

The green aura flared up around Zygarde once more and he shot forwards, slamming his fists into the center crystal. The four limbs shot up as well as his tail, and all five opened up like the maws of a dragon, and blasted outwards. They gave Zygarde a massive boost that propelled him through the crystal and out on the other side of the Megalith. Light began pouring from the Megalith as it shook, Lysandre struggling to keep his balance atop it.

_"KALOS!"_ the voice echoed once more across the landscape as energy began collecting in front of Zygarde, shining like scales. _"I WILL DEFEND YOU!"_ A beam of multicolored lights blasted forth, slamming into the earth, carving a Z into the dirt around the Megalith. With a massive green explosion, energy blasting upwards and disintegrating the Giant Rock. Lysandre cried out, hand reaching upwards as he mouthed his final words before being lost among the green light. And with that, the threat that Team Flare held to Kalos and the world, was finally at an end.

At least, we could only hope.

**Ah, that wraps things up nicely. The heroes have won! The world is saved! Hooray! Now... ask yourselves. What do I have planned for the remaining 9 chapters? Oh boy, I'm going all out until the very end! So until then my wonderful, ever faithful readers! Toodles!**


	76. Chapter 74: A Missing Friend

"This is worse than before," Alex murmured as we stared out the helicopter window. Smoke still rose from Lumiose City, tell-tale signs that some fires had yet to be put out. Blinking red and blue lights flashed from various streets as the sirens wailed. Compared to the attack the Cult had enacted on the city before, this had brought about more destruction and death. Unmoving vines still lay across roads and through buildings, slowly being cut down by Pokemon to attempt to remove them.

I rested a hand on her shoulder. "But it can be rebuilt. Kalos will move on. Team Flare is done for."

"Hopefully," Robert muttered and I shot him a quick glance. He grimaced. "There may be at least one person out there still not caught."

Now he had both of our attentions. Robert cleared his throat. "When Clemont and I fought to take back Prism Tower, I was attacked by a woman in some sort of suit with a helmet with a digital screen. On it was an E. She fell out of the building, and believe me when I tell you I'm pretty sure she has superhuman strength, so I think she's still out there. Then there's the matter of Xerosic. Clemont said he escaped, so unless he got caught..."

"Dang't," I looked back at Lumiose, half-destroyed and burning. "So we have some loose ends to tie up after all."

"At least it should be easier tha-" Alex's voice was cut off as the radio in the front of the helicopter burst with static.

"Hold on, I got it," James reached over and flicked a switch. He held a hand to his headphones, listening. Then he turned back to us. "Some guy names Looker of the International Police wants you guys to meet him at the base of Prism Tower."

I exchanged a glance with both of my friends. Looked like our job was far from over.

...

Jessie, James, and Meowth waved us goodbye as the helicopter lifted back off into the sky. They were still going to do their job as reporters to cover Lumiose news. As we stood on the cracked cobblestone street, Looker was making his way over to us, hopping over a vine that lay across the path.

"Glad you three could make it," he smiled, straightening his brown trench. He had cut his hair since the last time we had seen him, no longer sticking up. "I saw what went down outside of Anistar City. I don't believe I'm the only one who owes you all my thanks."

I waved my hand. "Enough. You called us here for a reason, right?"

Looker made a grim smile. "Right to the point, like always. Yeah, a good one. Follow me." He turned and led us across the plaza, towards where several IP vans were waiting. The back was open for one and a familiar face was sitting on the edge, a small blanket around his shoulders. He was staring down into what had probably been a steaming cup of coffee, but now had turned cold.

"Preston," I hurried forwards and he looked up, a glazed look over his eyes. He looked worse for wear, his clothes ripped and various bruises and cuts along the skin that was showing. "What happened to you!?"

He blinked, then he seemed to focus in on me. "Zeno?" He hurriedly set the cup down to his side and sprang to his feet, knocking the cup over where it shattered on the cobblestones. He gripped my shoulders tightly, looking absolutely frightened. "I couldn't-! I-! I tried! But I-!"

"Preston, Preston," I forced him to sit again. "Calm down. It's alright now." He was trembling so bad he couldn't even speak.

"What happened to him?" I heard Alex ask Looker.

Looker shook his head. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. But he said Zeno's name, so I figured the only way to get anything out of him was to get you three here."

One look at Preston told me the man was in shock, likely going to be unable to tell me anything for a while. There was only one option now. I took a step back and snapped my fingers as loud as possible. "Preston!" My authoritative tone made him jerk and he stared at me with wide-eyes. this was a tone I hand't used since I was a part of Team Rocket, something I knew would get through to Preston. "I don't want excuses, I want information! Failure will not be tolerated!"

Preston's trembling eased as he took in huge gulps of air. Then, "Thanks, Zeno."

"Anytime," I squeezed his shoulder. "Now, what happened? And where's Clara? Was she with you?"

Preston took a moment to answer as he shivered. "Yes. Clara was with me. We had escaped the stadium when the vines attacked, but then..."

...

_"C'mon," Clara tugged Preston free of the seat that had fallen on top of him._

_"Thanks," he gasped, looking back at the stadium. The large vines were still punching holes in the walls and the arena below was covered in smoke and there was no sign of Zeno. _

_"Hurry up," Clara ordered, already stomping away with Scizor at her side. "We can't hang around here."_

_Preston scrambled to his feet, hurrying after her. They made their way further into the stadium, careful to avoid the vines. There were no other people as they already left. _

_"Thanks," Preston told her. "For staying behind to help me."_

_Clara didn't even spare him a glance. "Right now we have to meet up with the others. Whoever is attacked here might be attacking the city itself. And I for one would like to have a word with whoever is orchestrating this."_

_Preston couldn't help but admire her confidence and ability to stay calm in a situation like this. Her Scizor ran forwards, slashing through a vine covering the entrance, leading them out into daylight. The sight that lay before them was a city undergoing its destruction. Vines smashed through buildings and streets, the screams of people and Pokemon filling the air._

_Clara pointed at Prism Tower in the distance where a red creature stood atop it. "There. We'll meet up with the others at the base I'm sure." She made to run towards the stairs that led down to the streets below, then stopped. _

_"What is it?" Preston asked, but Clara wouldn't answer and only stared down the steps. He followed her gaze to see her tracking a crowd of people and Pokemon that were running down a street. No, she was looking at one person in particular. Preston caught sight of a purple robe before it moved down an alley._

_"Not this time," Clara growled as she hared down the steps. _

_"Wait!" Preston stumbled after her, having to catch himself before he fell. "Wasn't that a-!"_

_Clara whipped around, already near the bottom. "You should know as well as I that Cultists cannot be allowed to be here! I'm going to stop whatever they're up to! You can either come along or help at Prism Tower!" She whirled back around and leaped down the rest of the stairs. _

_Preston ran a hand through his hair, glancing around nervously, then made up his mind. If everyone else was heading to Prism Tower, they would have each other. But Clara would only have herself and her Pokemon. By the time he made it down the stairs, Clara had already crossed the street and disappeared into the alley where the Cultist had gone. Cursing under his breath, Preston ran, jumping to avoid a vine that broke through the street and ran blindly into the dark passage._

_The sound of screaming and sirens seemed to have become a distant wailing as Preston hurried past sodden brick walls. Water dripped down into a large puddle that he had to splash through before he got to an open area. He gazed around, nervously eyeing every shadow. Not seeing anyone, he noticed another alley that led back towards the street. _

_A large vine broke through the building overhead, sending debris raining down. Preston immediately wrapped his arms around his head, squeezing his eyes shut as he prepared to be crushed. The sound of a pokeball opening made him reopen them. Something leaped above him, swinging its naked tail against the chunks of bricks, sending them into a nearby wall and they crashed to the ground. _

_"Raticate," Preston exclaimed and his Pokemon lumbered towards him, nuzzling him. "Thank you." He glanced up towards where he could see the street. "Come on, we need to hurry."_

_As soon as he put a foot out of the alley, a Shadow Ball whizzed past and slammed into the concrete sidewalk, carving out a large chunk. Preston whirled around to see Clara with her back to him, standing ten feet from the battle she was engaged in. Her opponent was one of the cultists, his Chandelure spinning forwards, trailing fire. Scizor ducked, his wings creating a gust of wind that blew the Ghost type upwards. He leaped into the air, spinning as he slammed a glowing claw into the enemy Pokemon, sending it crashing into the street, creating a small crater._

_Something caught his eye and Preston swiveled his gaze to see something streak towards Clara. His eyes widened as he yelled, "Raticate!" The Normal type leaped forwards, pushing Clara forwards as it took the Shadow Ball head-on. Clara's eyes widened when she saw Preston, then nodded her thanks, turning to see another cultist emerge from the shadows of a different alley, her Chandelure floating above her. _

_"Glad you showed up," Clara grinned. "Wouldn't be any fun if I took them down all by myself."_

_Preston gulped, nodding. He knew that these cultists wouldn't just battle you; they would kill you if given the chance. As Preston summon up the nerves to issue further commands to Raticate to attack, more cultists seemed to appear out of thin air. In a matter of seconds, they were surrounded. The city around them burned and crumbled as the vines continued to grow, but right now, it seemed as if this group was in their own separate universe. There were a dozen, no, more than that closing in on them, too many Chandelures burning their blue flames. _

_Preston felt a hand on his shoulder. Clara squeezed it. "When I attack, run."_

_"What?" Preston wanted to ask, but his mouth wouldn't work. Then Clara yelled something that he didn't hear over the noise of fear in his head and Scizor slammed a fist into the ground, blowing up a sharp wind, creating a hole in the line of cultists. He felt a hand push him forwards and then Raticate grabbed the back of his shirt, lifting him up as he ran, bowling past the line of cultists. Flames scorched the back of the Normal type, but he didn't let go of his trainer as he lumbered down the street. Preston managed to glanced back just in time to see the line of cultists once more surround Clara, vanishing her from view._

...

Preston shook his head sadly, eyelids threatening to close. Looker nodded at us and had some of his officers help Preston lay down in the back of his truck.

"It seems it's just one thing after another," Looker remarked. "Don't worry, we'll find your friend. I'll have any available unit out looking for Clara or cultists."

"Thanks," I nodded, exhaustion suddenly sweeping over me. Having fought in the final battle of the Kalos League yesterday as well as having spent the entire night saving the world, I was doing better than I thought. But the news of Clara was enough to dampen the joyful mood we could have been in.

Looker took a look at us, gaze softening. "Why don't you guys come back to my office with me? I have a couple couches you all can sleep on. And we'll bring Preston as well."

"Sounds like a plan," Alex said, nodding. She tried to look alert, but I could see the signs of fatigue. We all wanted to find Clara, but at the moment, we would be no help to anyone. By the time we arrived at Looker's dark office, we all found a couch to crash on. As darkness swept over me, I found myself thinking of Clara. My friend was either dead or in the clutches of the Cult, I was sure of it.

_"Thank you for being my rival, Zeno. No, thank you for being my friend."_

_"Clara," _I thought, feeling one final burst of determination before I let sleep take me. _"I _will _save you."_

**As the region begins to recover from the brutal attack caused by Lysandre and Team Flare, an old threat reemerges from the shadows. With Clara either missing or dead, the Cult of Chaos is finally making its move. Till next chapter. Toodles**


	77. Chapter 75: Night Chase

My dreams were chaotic to say the least. Flashes of memories of past encounters with the Cult kept resurfacing, along with the death of Mira. Clara kept popping up along with my other friends. Fears of their deaths were brought to life within the nightmare, jerking me awake.

"Eep!" A girl with long black hair who was passing by me with a tray nearly fell over, the mugs falling over the side. Before the dark liquid or glass touched the ground however, a psychic force stopped them midair. They floated back up and landed neatly on the tray, the liquid falling back in with a satisfying plop. An Espurr tottered over, purring as she rubbed against the girl's leg.

"Sorry," I apologized, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly.

"No no," she shook her head, violet eyes wide. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I nearly spilled your drink after all." She held out her free hand. "I'm Emma and this is Mimi." She gestured to the Espurr cuddling against her leg.

"I'm Zeno," I shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Emma." She wore a ragged blue blouse matched with an orange skirt along with black leggings and orange shoes. Her curly black hair was tied into poofy pigtails and their was a yellow M patched into her blouse. She smiled sweetly as she handed me a mug of coffee, then headed over to where Looker was sitting at a desk, writing something with a pen.

Looking around Looker's office, I noticed a fridge on one wall with a large map of Lumiose hanging next to the sink beside the fridge. There was a little sitting area with wooden barriers and the front door had multi-colored rectangular windows that continued up to the ceiling, where a strip of checkered tiles spanned around the room. In the very back was where the couches were. They looked old and worn and didn't match the decor of the room, so I assume they were here before Looker moved in here and he hadn't had the time to move them out. Alex, Robert, and Preston were laying on three other similar faded green couches, but upon closer inspection, I realized Preston was awake and staring at the ceiling blankly.

Taking a quick sip, I set the mug down on the floor and headed over to Preston. I knelt and he glanced at me. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he nodded, sitting up, rubbing his eyes. "Just..." He shook his head miserably. "I feel like a failure."

"It's not your fault," I told him firmly, standing. "And we're going to find her. Then you can offer your thanks to Clara."

Preston only nodded, still looking downcast. Emma nodded to me as she walked past and offered Preston a mug. Hearing a groan, I looked to see Robert sitting up. He glanced at me. "Everything hurts man."

"That's what you get for jumping out of a helicopter and onto a giant Wailord," I patted him on the shoulder and he winced.

"Not too rough," he complained, laying back down, then glanced to see Preston finally taking the coffee. "Hey. Room service please." He yelped as a couch cushion slammed into his chest.

"Ignore him," Alex leaned over the back of her couch, glaring at Robert. Her hair was messy after sleeping on the couch all day. Since we had met up on the beginning of our journey in this region, the red highlights in her hair had faded somewhat. As if she knew what I was thinking, she lifted a faded red strand. "Yep, I need to get this redone. Or go with something different." She fell back onto the couch with a huff. "How are you not sore, Zeno?"

"I'm used to this sort of thing," I shrugged, heading over to Looker, trying not to show just how sore I was really feeling as I moved. His sleek oak desk was a jumbled mess of papers, his lamp dangerously close to falling. "You find anything?"

"Some sightings of people in purple cloaks," he sighed, not looking up as he signed his signature on the bottom of a paper and moved it on top of a messy pile. He folded his hands and looked up at me. "It's going to be hard finding them in the state Lumiose is in. I hear there's around half of the vines still protruding from one thing or another. I'm sorry to say this, but we might not be able to find any solid leads until the city is cleaned up, and that's if we're lucky."

I grunted, turning away. "I'll go out myself then."

I stepped out of the office, breathing in the evening air. It looked like we had slept through the whole day.

"Oh, you heading out as well?" Emma asked as she closed the doors behind her.

"Yeah," I nodded, looking down the broken street to my right. I could see the tip of a vine sticking out of a gaping hole in a building twenty feet away, workers along with a Machamp and Doublade breaking through it. "I need to find a friend."

Emma nodded. "I hope you find them. If Looker asks, tell him I had something I needed to do. I feel bad he just lets me stay here for free and doesn't make me pay for anything." She looked embarrassed. "So I figured I need to do my part, even if he insists otherwise. It's the least I can do."

"I'll tell him," I promised. "Be safe. There might be... Well, just be careful."

She nodded. "I will." She turned and headed down the opposite street I had been looking down and turned a corner and was out of sight. Sighing, I shoved my hands into my pockets, wondering where I should start looking. I winced as my stomach growled and someone let out a chuckle as I heard the door open behind me again.

"Someone's feeling a bit peckish," Alex joked, punching me lightly on the shoulder. "How about we all get something to eat before we go looking. I know you're worried, but we can't rescue Clara if we're not at our best."

"She's right," Robert agreed, nodding wisely as he stepped out and stood on my other side. "Come on, we'll get food to-go somewhere."

I sighed, giving them a small smile. "Fine, you guys know best."

"You know," Alex said as we headed down the street. "We haven't lost. Clara's still alive and probably fuming over how long we're taking to rescue her."

I chuckled despite myself. "You know, you're probably right."

"I'm always right," Alex grasped my hand.

"Can I get in on the action as well?" Robert asked, clasping my hand with both of his, giving both of us a wide grin. Alex flicked him in-between the eyes and he let go, rubbing the spot she had hit. "You know, you're no fun sometimes."

Night had fallen upon Lumiose City by the time we finished eating. We had already searched several blocks, occasionally helping with destroying vines. Every alley we came across was explored fully, but there was no sign of anything that might be a potential clue. The search was made harder by the fact that we weren't exactly sure what we were looking for.

"C'mon," Robert jerked a thumb down an alley we had almost passed by. "I don't think we searched this one yet." I could see he was trying to be optimistic for our sake, but we all knew this search was going to turn up nothing.

Our footsteps echoed around us and small scuffling noises told us the Pokemon who made their home here in the dirty darkness were disturbed by our presence. The buildings loomed around us, dark against the minimal light that was beaming from Prism Tower nearby, part of it visible from within the alley.

_Crunch._ I jerked my head around to see Robert standing in the middle of the square space we had entered. He had one foot raised, glanced back at us, then lowered his foot again. _Crunch._

"We may have something," Robert murmured, flicking on a flashlight and shining it down on the ground. The light glinted off fragments of glass laying together, most crushed into dust on a manhole.

"Why would glass be here?" Alex knelt, then glanced up around us. Robert moved the light around, examining all of the building walls. There were few windows and none were broken. Then the beam settled on a part of the wall that had a gash in the bricks. The gash spread diagonally from the top and past a window with broken glass. Robert waved the light around the ground and sure enough, there were pieces of brick laying near the glass.

"Looks like something sliced down the building," I muttered.

"Yes, but why?" Alex squinted at the gash. "Could it have been a vine?"

"Nah," Robert shook his head, walking closer to the wall to look up at the wound. "Too small. Besides, I would think the vine would have likely punctured the wall itself. Maybe..." He backed up until he was against the opposite wall, staring up at Prism Tower. "I think I know what did this, though it's just a theory."

"Well spit it out," Alex hurried him on.

"Remember that woman in the suit I fought in the tower?" Robert asked.

"Yeah, you said she fell out of the building," I nodded. "Why?"

"I never saw her land," Robert reminded us. "And I can see the hole from here. Which leads me to believe that she must've gotten to this alley and broke her fall by clinging to the building."

"A human made that groove?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"I told you she had superhuman strength," Robert held up finger. "She broke through the ground beneath me and created that hole in the side of the tower."

"Okay, we might have found out where this woman ended up," I said. "But that doesn't help with finding Clara and the cultists."

"Well," Robert knelt next to the glass again, but before he could say anything, a scream entered the alley from the street. I didn't even glance at the others before rushing out, releasing Greninja as I went. I skidded to a halt once back on the sidewalk, glancing to the right. There was someone standing in the middle of the street and a person laying on the ground several feet away.

"Hey!" I shouted, taking a step forwards. The person turned to face me, their face covered by a helmet with a glowing E on the front display. Faster than I could register, she sent out a Malamar before kneeling and picking up the worker that was slumped on the ground. She shouldered him as Malamar lashed out with his tentacles. Greninja shoved me aside, blocking the attacks with a blade.

Ninetales rushed past, but the woman leaped into the sky, landing on top of a building.

"What!?" I blinked as she began running.

"C'mon!" Robert rushed past me. "I told you she had superhuman abilities!"

Greninja blasted Malamar away, but a red beam sucked the Psychic type away towards the woman. Nodding to Alex, we took off after Robert, who was trying to keep pace with the woman. I motioned with two fingers and Greninja leaped onto a building, running across the rooftops. We startled a group of workers who had pitched tents next to their work zone and the Machamps roared at us angrily. Nimbly leaping over the rubble, we turned on the street heading away from Prism Tower. Alex and I had caught up to Robert at this point, but the woman was still gaining distance on us, Greninja firing two shurikens, but this woman flipped into the air, dodging them. She then leaped and disappeared into an alley.

"I got this!" Alex ran ahead with her Ninetales. "Will-O-Wisp!" Ninetales fired two ghostly fires that hung in the alley, giving us a bit of light. There wasn't anyone we could see and when Robert huffed his way over, he shined his flashlight in, but there was no one.

Greninja leaped down into the alley and shook his head at me. Ninetales breathed the Will-O-Wisp back into her maw and we headed inside. Most of the alleys in Lumiose looked the same, narrow entrances and a square area between the buildings. Sometimes there were other pathways leading out to different streets, so they served as useful shortcuts.

"The heck!?" Robert exclaimed, waving the beam around. To Alex, he said, "You know, you could've just waited for me to use the Flashlight. What was the point of Will-O-Wisp?"

"In case she tried to run at us through the alley," Alex retorted. "It was a great tactic."

"Both of you be quiet," I ordered, looking around the alley. Everything seemed perfectly normal. A leaking pipe ran up one wall, a steady drip forming a puddle in a dip in the ground. The windows looked fine around us, so even if we hadn't heard one breaking, she hadn't escaped through one. There was also no broken glass this time in the center, just a manhole.

"You think she went down there?" Robert voiced the question in my head.

I nodded. "Seems like the only way she could've gotten out of here." Kneeling, I placed my fingers in the holes of the metal disk and lifted it. It came up easily and I looked down into the darkness. Robert and Alex came over, the flashlight lighting up the bottom. There was a murky layer of water down there, looking as inviting as a graveyard full of Gastlys and Haunters.

"Eww." Alex pinched her nose. "That's disgusting." The smell wasn't so great either.

Robert glanced sideways at Alex. "Probably best if you don't use any Fire moves down there. You might blow up the city." He moaned in pain as Alex hit him in the head. "You know, hitting me is a serious problem of yours. You should see a psychiatrist for that. Hitting is not a good way to vent your frustration and ang- Hey, what are you _doing_!?"

"Going in," I told him without looking at him, as I lowered myself on the ladder. I dropped down onto the moldy concrete, a rusted railing separating me from the river of sludge. Greninja leaped down beside me, looking around cautiously. I glanced up and held out my hand. "Torch."

"It's called a flashlight," Robert grumbled, handing it down. "Just because we're in Kalos doesn't mean we should call it a "torch"." Ignoring him, I swung the light down both tunnels, seeing nothing. Across the river was another walkway and an opening that lead into further darkness. "You know, I have a great idea." Robert poked his head into the sewer, then screwed up his face. "Yeah, that's rank."

"What's your idea?" Alex asked, hitting him on the back.

Robert grumbled something, then, "How about we report this to Looker? This woman is a part of Team Flare and I would love to have backup if we were going into a sewer. Who knows what could happen down here."

"You know, I hate to admit this, but he's right," Alex pushed him away. "Besides, I thought we were looking for Clara."

I gritted my teeth. But they were right. But yet, something felt off. My sixth sense was tingling and I felt a sense of foreboding. One glance with Greninja told me he felt the same. But the search for Clara had to come first. I aimed the beam down the tunnel one last time before deciding to head back up. Then the beam hit something on the wall several feet away that caught my eye.

"Zeno?" Alex asked as I started moving away from the ladder. "Where are you going?"

"Hold on," I told her. "I think..." I could see scratches on the wall. At first I didn't know why I needed to get a closer look, then I realized that sense of foreboding was getting stronger. My heart was pounding as I stared at the marking. An eye with arrows spreading outwards from it, an image that filled me with absolute dread. I glanced once more down the dark sewer tunnel and the shadows seemed alive now, reaching out towards me with malicious intent. I shuddered, but I squared my shoulders. The Cult was down here somewhere, I was sure of it.

_"And so is Clara," _I narrowed my eyes into the darkness, daring something to appear. _"We're coming for you, my friend."_

**We move closer and closer to the end. It'll be sad to see LDOC go, but I also can't wait for the new project I have planned probs immediately after this book is finished, which you all won't want to miss. I'll even give a teaser for it in the Epilogue when it's published. I'll probably work on getting more updates for Dark out as well for those who are eagerly awaiting that. But until then, Chaos awaits. Toodles**


	78. Chapter 76: Sewers of Lumiose

"Looker, we need to talk," I announced as Alex, Robert, and I walked into his office. We stopped as we saw Looker in conversation with a familiar woman.

The dark-skinned woman leaned back, raising an eyebrow. "Ah, you're a little earlier than expected. We can work with that."

"Not to be rude or anything," Robert said, looking confused. "But what are you doing here?"

Sandra gave a half smile. "Same as you. You've discovered their mark, yes?"

"Yes," I said slowly. I instantly felt suspicious of her, Clara's words coming back to me. Sandra was lying about something and I couldn't be sure if that would mean she's a threat. "I-"

"Hold on, Zeno," Looker held up a hand to me. "You all know this woman?"

We nodded and Looker tapped his chin with his pen, Emma's Espurr, Mimi curled up on his lap. Preston was sitting on the couch nearby, nervous-looking, but still listening in on the conversation.

"So," Looker glanced down at his notes, then at us. "The Cult is somewhere in the sewers?"

"And possibly what remains of Team Flare," Alex put in quickly. "We chased a woman in a bodysuit into the sewers. She kidnapped someone as well."

Looker stood, Mimi floating to the ground and looking up at him curiously. "Alright, so we're dealing with two groups potentially working together. I'll round up as many people as I can, but it might take some time to come up with a sufficient plan."

"And that's why I'm here," Sandra stood firmly. "To tell you that you don't have much time left."

"What do you mean?" I asked, meeting her gaze.

"Chaos." That one word confirmed my worst fears. Sandra continued on urgently. "They're ready to summon Zanarchggon into our world. They have what they need to succeed and little can stop them now. If you all don't do all you can to stop it, then the world will be plunged into chaos." She turned to us three. "I've already told you what is to come. Life and Death must unite if Chaos is to be stopped."

"And how do we do that exactly?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Life and death," Robert murmured. "Are you saying we need Xerneas and Yveltal."

"Exactly," Sandra nodded. "You and Alex must convince them both to come and help. Without them, all is lost."

"Hold on," I interrupted, moving so I faced Sandra. "How can we know you're trustworthy? For all we know, you're one of them."

Silence followed the accusation. Sandra's expression was unreadable, then she smiled. "Whether you trust me or not is irrelevant. Your friend is in mortal peril. Can you really afford not to trust me?"

"Zeno." Alex rested her hand on my shoulder. I looked into her eyes; full of sympathy and determination. "Getting Xerneas and Yveltal to help us is a good plan. Probably the best one."

I closed my eyes, letting her words soothe me. She was right. This was the best plan, even if I couldn't fully trust Sandra. Robert nodded, on board with the plan as well. Turning to Sandra, I said, "Alright, we'll go with what you said. But where can we even find Yveltal?"

"Let me and Alex take care of that," Sandra said, nodding to her. "Robert can find Xerneas and bring her here to help."

"Um, how will I do that exactly?" Robert asked, raising his hand slightly. "She's a tree last I saw."

Sandra seemed not to hear. She glanced at Looker. "We'll need immediate transport and fast."

Looker was hesitant, but nodded and turned away, taking a phone out of his trench pocket. I lead both Alex and Robert away from Sandra to talk. "I don't trust her, but I do agree this is the best plan of action. Please be careful, Alex."

She smirked. "No worries. If she tries anything, me and my Pokemon will be ready."

"And I guess I'll somehow awaken Xerneas," Robert shrugged. "Can't be too hard, right?"

"You have to be careful too, Zeno," Alex grasped my hand with her own. "You'll be going straight into danger."

"I know," I smiled softly. "But that's nothing new with us. But I know I can count on you two to bring help as quickly as you can. We'll do what we can here in the meantime." I stopped as Sandra walked over, nodding to Alex. "You ready?" She asked.

Alex glanced at me one more time, then nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Looker tucked his phone away and hurried over. "Two choppers are inbound. You all can meet them outside of Prism Tower." To me he said, "You and I will head into the sewers to scout ahead. I have a feeling you would go by yourself while the IP makes a plan." I smirked to show that his assumption was correct. He continued. "I updated Anabel on what we're planning to do and she'll mobilize a task force as soon as possible."

"Then we should go now," Sandra said, heading towards the door.

"Good luck," I told my friends. "Stay safe above all else."

"You don't need to worry about us my friend," Robert grinned. "We'll be back in no time."

Alex pulled me into a hug, then pulled back just as quick. "We'll come to help as soon as we can. I promise. Zeno..." She hesitated, then, "Show the Cult who they're really messing with."

"I will," I promised her, watching as she and Robert followed Sandra out into the night. To Looker, I asked, "When do we leave?"

"Now," He confirmed. "If we can get your friend and anyone else out quietly, then that would be a blessing. But," he gave me a stern look. "I don't want us taking on the entire Cult if we can avoid it."

"Fine," I agreed, but deep down I knew I would disregard that at any point if needed.

Looker rubbed his chin, then looked at Mimi who was curled up in his chair. "Come to think of it, where's Emma?"

"She left in the evening," I told him, remembering our short conversation. "She said something about having something to do. I think a job because she said she wants to pay you back."

"Oh," Looker shook his head. "She doesn't need to do that. But as long as she's out of harm's way..." He headed over to his desk and took out his pen. "I'll leave her a note here. Mimi!" The Psychic type floated upwards from the chair and over to Looker, landing on the desk and tipping her head to the side. "I want you to keep an eye on the office while we're away, alright? Be here when Emma returns."

Mimi purred, rubbing against Looker's hand. He smiled and nodded to me, expression becoming serious. "We should hurry and go now."

"Wait." Preston stopped us as I was opening the door, a resolute air about him. He took a deep breath, then said, "I'm coming with you."

"Are you sure?" Looker asked. "This is going to be a very dang-"

"I know!" Preston interrupted, looking slightly scared again. "But I have to do this. Don't you see that?"

I walked forwards, standing in front of him. I could tell he was serious about this, so I said, "Alright. Glad to have your assistance, Preston."

He gave a weak smile. "I'll do what I can."

"That's all that can be asked of," I turned towards Looker. "Alright, let's go."

...

I landed back in the same sewer from earlier, an echo bouncing off the concrete walls. Looker and Preston landed beside me, both flicking on flashlights. A screech sounded from above and a Zubat flew by overhead. I let out Lucario and he walked alongside me as I went back to the Chaos symbol on the wall.

"That's them alright," Looker's voice was tense and he opened his pokeball to let out his Water type. "Keep an eye out, Inteleon." His Pokemon nodded and shimmered in the air, disappearing.

We walked in silence, dripping sounds and the cries of Zubat and Rattata abundant all around us. Along the way we found more symbols, carved into the floor, walls, and ceiling. Some were scratched into the surface, but others were painted with a red substance.

"In here," Looker pointed his flashlight into a doorway, lighting up a stairway leading further down into the sewer. Another eye was drawn in blood on the inside wall.

"I didn't even think sewers would have multiple levels," I grumbled.

"They were likely built on top of one another," Looker answered. "I hear there are older sewer systems beneath Lumiose. Ones that aren't used anymore."

"And likely where the Cult is hiding." Preston gulped.

Grimacing, I looked to my Pokemon. "Lucario, try again will you?" Lucario nodded and set his palm in the doorway, reaching out with his aura. His eyes shot open suddenly, tensing. He growled and shot forwards down the stairs. "Wait!" I hissed, bounding after him. Before I reached the bottom, I heard a loud cracking noise and dust filled the small area. Coughing, I waved my hand to clear the air as I walked through another doorway to stand next to Lucario. We were in a smaller sewer system, devoid of water, but it smelled horrendous.

When the dust finally settled, Lucario helped up another Pokemon to his feet from a hole in the wall. A slopping noise sounded from across the sewer and something emerged from the darkness as Looker and Preston shined their lights. A huge Garbodor roared at us, swinging a rusty pipe as an arm, covered in smelling gunk. A blast of water made the arm jerk backwards, crashing into the ceiling, showering dust around us.

As Inteleon and Raticate advanced on the Poison type, I hurried over to Lucario to help the dust-covered Pokemon. My eyes widened as I recognized the dented metal and dull red coloring. "Scizor!?"

His eyes flickered open, settling on me. He tried to move, but fell to his knees again. Lucario steadied him gently, eyes narrowing. His aura spread over the Bug type and they sat there in silence. I turned towards the Garbodor, slamming Raticate away as air sliced against him from Inteleon.

"This thing is powerful!" Preston stumbled back, avoiding a swinging arm. Raticate launched himself forwards, clamping down on it. Garbodor roared angrily and swung the Normal type against the wall.

Lucario laid Scizor down gently before standing. He clenched a fist, an orange glow surrounding it. He bared his teeth and leaped forwards, slamming the fist into Garbodor's head. He jumped back, avoiding a swinging arm. His paws shot out, forming two long bones. He hurled one and it lodged itself into the Poison type's stomach. It cried out in pain as Lucario leaped and swung his weapon, bashing Garbodor so hard he stumbled into the aged brick wall. The ceiling cracked overhead and collapsed on the enemy Pokemon. Lucario stepped back, letting his weapon disappear.

"Good job, Lucario," I said, then turned to Scizor, who was trying to get up.

"Here, let me," Looker knelt, spraying a potion on the Steel type. Some of the bruising faded, but Scizor would need better treatment from a Nurse Joy. Scizor slammed his claw into the ground, propping himself up so he could stand on shaky feet. He leaned against the wall, shaky, but looking angry.

"Do you know where Clara is?" Preston asked and Scizor's gaze shot to him. He nodded and Preston gasped. "He can lead us to her!"

"But he's not fit to do anything right now," Looker argued. "He needs medical treatment."

Scizor shook his head, looking at Lucario. The Fighting type nodded and helped Scizor stand by crossing their arms over each other's shoulders. Lucario nodded to me and I felt two emotions. One of steely resolve and one that told me to trust.

"He'll be fine," I told Looker. "This may be the fastest way of finding them.

The IP Officer sighed. "Fine."

I nodded to the two Pokemon. "Lead the way."

**Sorry for the long wait on this update. I recently got a new laptop finally and I've been testing it out the past couple days. But I finally got this finished and the next chapter will hopefully come sooner. We're closer to the end now than ever before! Six chapters and counting! Till next time! Toodles!**


	79. Chapter 77: Sacrifice

Clara gritted her teeth as she tried to move her wrists, only for the rope to bite harder into the raw skin. Her legs were equally immobile, her back pressed against someone else who was only recently brought in by the woman in the skintight black suit and helmet. There were dozens of people and Pokemon around her, bound and gagged like her, arranged in a circle. The large cavernous room was supported by pillars and a network of pipes ran along the ceiling. It was barely lit, the only light coming from scattered candles and lamps, as well as the eerie blue fire from the Chandelures.

The shadows caused by the lights moved as Cultists stalked around the edges of the large room. They had a excited air about them, as if their anticipation was too much for them. Whispers floated around Clara and she struggled to make any sense of what was being said. Litwicks moved along the ground all around, occasionally lighting up an area near some of the tunnels where they sent Rattatas skittering away back into the sewers. They occasionally moved along the captives and whenever they passed by, Clara got the shuddering sensation that her soul was slowly being sucked into their flickering flames.

A flash of red reminded Clara the Cult weren't the only ones down here. Team Flare grunts patrolled the sewer tunnels while some remained within the main chamber. One of their scientists, known as Xerosic, was busy on a laptop which had wires connected to the woman in the bodysuit.

Footsteps echoed and purple robes swished in front of Clara. She glared up at the man standing before her, his hood pulled back to reveal an aged face. "Hello dear," Sebastian knelt, smiling. "I hope you're ready to be a sacrifice to the All-Powerful One."

...

Our progress was slower now as we made our way through the old sewer systems, but this time we knew where we were going thanks to Scizor. Looking at the Bug/Steel type once more, I could see how damaged he was. He must've escaped to find help for Clara and likely almost died in the process.

After going through several different tunnels, Scizor stopped at the next junction. He nodded to the left tunnel and Looker slid down the wall, barely poking his face out the other side to take a peek. He withdrew quickly, jerking his head slightly towards it. Inteleon shimmered slightly before disappearing again as he climbed the wall towards the ceiling. Lucario lay Scizor down gently before nodding to me. Nodding back, I sent out Mawile, who was filled in on the situation by Lucario. Raticate stepped forwards, rubbing his teeth together. I shared a glance with Preston, who gulped.

Looker held up his hand, listened, then brought it down, turning the corner swiftly. Our Pokemon followed, Raticate sliding across the ground and bouncing against the wall. Following, I saw that there were four Flare grunts. They had backed up quickly, eyes wide, but recovered quick. Two balls flew over our heads, releasing a Drapion and Weavile behind us. Lucario turned on the balls of his feet, clenching a glowing fist. In front, two Houndooms bared their teeth as flames flickered around their maws.

Looker and I rushed forwards as the Pokemon engaged one another in battle. Weavile launched herself towards Lucario, only to be hit by a thin bolt of water that slammed her into the wall. Lucario ducked beneath Drapion's extended arms, driving home his fist into the Poison type's middle. I jumped, kicking off the wall so I could spin my boot into a grunt's head, slamming her to the ground. Looker delivered a swift kick into another grunt's stomach and he crashed into his buddy behind him.

Raticate burst through the Flamethrower, slamming his body into the Houndoom, who yelped as it was crushed into the floor. Mawile leaped over his head to slam her back jaw into the other Houndoom who had lunged for the Normal type. She whipped herself around, a blast of pink wind sending him crashing into the wall. As Inteleon kept Weavile at bay with shots of water and wind, Lucario dragged bones along the ground, assaulting the Ogre Scorp Pokemon with them. Then Lucario was caught by Drapion's tail, his arms trapped. The Dark type twisted his body around to face him, claws glowing green.

A blur of red and Drapion cried out in pain and released Lucario. Scizor turned quickly, blasting wind against him. Drapion stumbled forwards, right in the path of Lucario's swinging fist. It slammed into his face, the enemy Pokemon collapsing.

I dodged to one side, the grunt's fist hitting empty air. I dropped, swinging out my leg and tripping him. Then a kick sent me sprawling and the grunt I had thought I had taken out moments earlier was ready to attack again. Then Preston appeared out of nowhere, yanking the Flare grunt backwards and punching her in the face. She spun around from the impact, her red sunglasses falling to the ground when before she collapsed.

"Thanks," I breathed, accepting his hand so he could pull me to my feet.

"I still have the skills from my last job," Preston smiled sadly, then shook his head. "We should keep moving."

Scizor stumbled past us, then stopped. Footsteps echoed around the battered tunnel as we all turned to see the new arrivals. Just ten feet away from us were several cultists with their hoods pulled up. They stood there, faces hidden in darkness. Then they turned around and began walking quietly away, forms swallowed up by the shadows.

"After them," Looker growled as our Pokemon regrouped at our sides. "But slowly. Be prepared for an ambush."

With our flashlights aimed forwards, we saw the Cultists disappear around a corner. We hurried after them, cautiously turning the corner to find a tunnel that led down to an archway. Flickering flames lay beyond that and the Cultists were waiting for us below it.

"We're here," I realized. "And they don't look surprised to see us."

"It's like they're welcoming us," Preston look terrified, but he looked resolved as he stood alongside Raticate.

As we drew nearer to the archway, the Cultists parted to let someone walk through. I stopped. "Sebastian."

He smiled, showing a row of white teeth. "Ah, so you've finally arrived. The All-Powerful One has foretold of your arrival. She desires your presence for when she is finally summoned." He held up his hand, gesturing us forwards. "Come. We won't cause any of you harm. Just be mindful of your manners. We wouldn't want any accidents happening to our current guests now would we."

I exchanged a glance with Preston and Looker. The latter nodded after a brief hesitation, but kept his guard up. Both Lucario and Mawile growled, but didn't attack when I shot them both a glare. Taking a deep breath, I lead the way forwards. The Cultists beneath the archway stared at us as we passed by, an ominous aura emanating from them. Sebastian stood within the large rectangular chamber ahead, Chandelures and their pre-evolutions providing most of the light. This place was easily the size of a stadium, thick concrete pillars supporting the pipe-covered ceiling. Then I caught sight of the circle of people and Pokemon. They were bound and gagged, arranged in a circle and pressed back-to-back. Their were at least several dozen, bruised and some had dried blood on them. The various Pokemon had metal bands around them, seeming to be able to block their powers and ability.

"So they've arrived." Two figures stepped out of the shadows to join Sebastian. The one who spoke was Xerosic, seemingly paler than ever before. The other person beside him was the woman in the black skintight suit. The E on her helmet's screen glowed and something felt oddly familiar about it.

"What happened to making the world a better place?" I narrowed my eyes at Xerosic. "How does helping the Cult achieve that?"

"This world is already dead," Xerosic stated grimly. "There is no future in trying to restore it or restarting from scratch. Only in Chaos will there be some meaning."

Preston gasped and he shook my shoulder. "Zeno, it's Clara!" I followed his gaze and saw Clara somewhere near the outer edge of the circle on the far side, her face turned towards us. From this distance I couldn't make out her expression, but she nodded.

"So," Looker held Sebastian's gaze firmly. "All these people are going to be your sacrifices to summon Chaos?"

"Oh, no no," the Cultist chuckled, shaking his head. "They are merely a gift for the All-Powerful One. No, that's why we have Essentia." He gestured towards the woman in the suit. "She was made for this exact reason. While Zeno would have been a near-perfect sacrifice himself, Essentia turned out to be, how should I put it," he grinned widely. "Essential!" He then looked to Xerosic. "Now that everyone's here, begin the preparations!"

Xerosic nodded, leading Essentia away by the hand towards a table with a laptop and machine. He began sticking cords into her suit, tapping away.

"If you think we'll just sit back and let you do this-!" I took a step forwards, but Sebastian held up his hand and several Cultists and Chandelures advancing towards the prisoners. I stopped, clenching my fist in frusteration.

"That's better," Sebastian nodded, satisfied. "Now we shall continue as planned. Xerosic, is she ready?"

"Y-yes," Xerosic said, looking slightly distracted. He unplugged the cords from the suit and lead Essentia to stand on the symbol of Chaos, drawn in blood on the ground. Sebastian withdrew a jagged knife, chanting something under his breath. Chandelures began spinning around him, their flames connecting and glowing purple. A chill spread through my body. I glanced worriedly at Looker, who shook his head and mouthed, "Not yet." I saw something shimmer in the air not far from Sebastian and I knew Inteleon would intervene before it was too late.

Something flew past me and I heard Looker gasp. "_Mimi!?_"

"What is this!?" Sebastian growled as the Espurr landed gently on the ground beside Essentia.

"Wait!" Xerosic cried, grabbing Sebastian's arm before he could give an order. "It's not a threat!"

Mimi rubbed against Essentia's leg, her purr echoing around the room. She glanced up at the helmet, eyes wide with love. A swift kick sent the Psychic type flying backwards.

"Mimi!" Looker and I both yelled, but Mimi got back up, looking hurt emotionally rather than physically. She launched herself forwards with psychic energy and slammed into the glass helmet.

"Get that Pokemon away from her!" Sebastian yelled and a Chandelure blasted Mimi away with fire and trapped her within a circle of flames. But the damage had been done and the glass covering cracked and broke apart, revealing the young woman within.

"No!" Looker choked. "Emma!?"

I blinked. It was that same girl from Looker's office. She shook her head, as if trying to come out of a daze. She glanced around, her eyes falling on Xerosic. "Is the test over? Did I do it okay?"

"ENOUGH!" Sebastian roared, clenching Emma's shoulder hard, raising his knife. "THE TIME IS NOW! CHAOS WILL RISE ONCE MORE!"

"NO!" Several people shouted that word. Looker was the first of us to begin sprinting towards Emma, but Xerosic made it there first. He shoved Emma aside and cried out as the blade sliced into his chest. He gurgled blood and collapsed upon the ground, the symbol glowing purple.

"NOOOOO!" Sebastian cried, dropping the dagger. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

The circle of Chandelures was broken as several concentrated bursts of water slammed into several of them. Looker resumed his sprint, slamming Sebastian to the floor. Lucario, Mawile, and Raticate surged forwards, Lucario sprinting ahead and Mega Evolving upon my command. He flicked his wrists, blasting the cultists and enemy Pokemon around the prisoners away with his aura. Raticate and Mawile engaged a group of Ghost types as Preston and I ran to help the prisoners.

Time seemed to slow around us. Then something just beyond the dozens of captives began to form. It began as a flicker of purple, then a crack spread from floor to ceiling. It began to spread open slowly, an eerie violet light seeping through. Then a single claw appeared through the rift, oozing a poisonous substance as it curled around the tear in reality, trying to force it open.

Sebastian managed to lift his head as Looker held him down and his face lit up. All the cultists fell to their hands and knees, bowing to what lay beyond. "She comes! She comes! She comes!"

...

"Are you sure this was the right idea, dear? I mean, our ancestor sai-"

"Oh stop it already," Princess Allie waved her father away as she headed towards the second floor of the mansion to watch the work being done herself from the balcony. "I'm sure that prophecy was nothing but a load of mumbo jumbo. Besides, I'm sure the finished product will look gorgeous when it's complete. Once my dearest Zeno sees it, I'm sure he'll come back to be my husband for sure!"

She practically skipped the rest of the way up the stairs and down the hall. She turned once she reached the wall of mirrors and headed onto the balcony. She gripped the edge and stared down at the hedge mazes as the first rays of dawn lit up Kalos. Down below, the front two hedge mazes represented the face of a Pyroar and the other the body of a Chandelure. The one in the top right created to look like a Solrock. To its left, a hedge maze that had to be regrown after a small fire. The Princess had tinkered with the idea of remaking it the way it was, but then decided she would make a lovely present out of it for Zeno to represent the face of one of his Pokemon.

She watched as the workers and their Pokemon trimmed away and styled the maze. Then she tilted her head slightly. "Now, that's an odd looking Arcanine. I do say, it does look pleasing to the eye. I'm sure husband dear will be so delighted when he sees it!"

**Another long delay, sorry! I've been using my new laptop a lot for testing how it runs and playing Minecraft. But I'll try and get more chapters rolling out faster and faster... Chaos is rising! While Zeno, Looker, Preston, and their Pokemon face the coming threat of the All-Powerful One, Alex and Robert hurry to bring together the two legendary Pokemon of Kalos; Xerneas and Yveltal. The final showdown with the Cult of Chaos begins and the world may be destined to be plunged into the depths of Chaos! Till next time and Happy Labor Day! Toodles!**


	80. Chapter 78: Calling Upon the Legends

**Chapter 78: Life, Death, Order, and Chaos Pt. 1: Calling Upon the Legends**

"This is the place!" Robert yelled over the sound of the helicopter rotors as he pulled open the side door. Wind and snow rushed past, nearly blowing him over. He gripped the metal tightly, giving a thumbs up to the pilot before leaping out. He opened the pokeball in his left hand and bounced off Snorlax's stomach and landed in the snow. He pulled himself up, shaking his blonde hair, snow flying in all directions.

"Brr," he rubbed his arms, the chill in the air seeping through his clothes. He could barely see through the dark snowstorm and his boots sunk nearly a foot into the snow.

"Jump out of helicopters often?" Robert turned to find a Radiance grunt leaning against a tree, watching him from only two feet away.

"Surprisingly," Robert glanced back up at the helicopter, hovering just above the treetops. "It's becoming quite normal. I'm hoping that's a good thing." He sneezed, nodding to the grunt. "Take me to your leader."

The grunt rolled his eyes, taking off his cap and shaking it loose of snow that accumulated on top, revealing his strawberry blonde hair. "Follow me."

...

"Where exactly are we heading?" Alex asked as she glanced out the helicopter window as Lumiose was left far behind in the distance. "South?"

"South," Sandra confirmed, sitting in the seat across from her. "The mountainous regions in Southern Kalos have few settlements and many areas left alone for wild Pokemon. That is where we will find Yveltal."

"How do you know so much?" Alex asked bluntly. "And don't say it's because you're an archaeologist or whatever. We all know there's something about you that you're not telling us."

Sandra raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what could I be hiding?"

Alex shrugged. "Zeno told us what Clara told him about the mines. You let something slip. You said you took an expedition into Terminus Cave when the mines were still in operation. But they've been abandoned for fifty-ish years." She took a deep breath. "You're like AZ, aren't you? Someone who's immortal."

Sandra stayed quiet for a long while, staring out the window at the rushing scenery. Just when Alex was about to nod off, Sandra spoke. "Yes, I am immortal. Not by choice, but it is my fate." She smiled softly, still staring out at the approaching mountains. "I'll assure you one more time, Alex. I am not your enemy. I am only here to help."

Alex opened her mouth to respond, but then Sandra let out a small, "Aha." Alex blinked and Sandra nodded towards the window. "Kiloude City is below. We're not far from Yveltal now."

Alex looked out her window, the sky still dark with stars lighting up the night. Lights flickered from the city below, nestled in a space surrounded by mountains. Sandra spoke more instructions to the pilot as Alex watched the night sky slowly brighten. Dawn would be approaching soon. She could only hope Zeno and the others were okay, but the feeling of helplessness still gnawed at her.

_"No, I'm not helpless,"_ she told herself as the helicopter flew over a mountain. _"I'll be back as soon as I can, Zeno. I promise."_

...

"Now that's the stuff," Robert sighed in relief as they entered the main cave. The air was warmer and all the ice within had melted. "You guys let some of the steam from Volcanion enter this cave. Controlled, less you all collapse from heat exhaustion."

"Correct." Kamake strode up, nodding to the grunt. "I'll take it from here."

Dismissed, the grunt turned and headed off to the left, patting another grunt on the shoulder, who groaned. She fixed her cap on and tugged on the camo coat before heading out into the snowstorm.

"Come," Kamake headed off down the cavern where Xerneas was still in tree form in the cylinder tank. Eve looked up from a desk, standing when she recognized Robert.

"I can assume you can explain what's going on?" Eve asked.

Robert blinked. "And that would be?"

Kamake tapped at the computer on the desk, bringing up a map of Kalos. It showed a purple hue beginning to form in Lumiose City. "This," Eve said. "We know it's Chaos energy and we think you know what's going on."

"Chaos is rising," Robert said, grimacing. "And we need Xerneas' help to stop it. We need to wake her up."

Eve shared a glance with Kamake. "Is that possible?"

"Theoretically," Kamake picked up her tablet, tapping something on it. "But we could only stimulate her body and mind. It would ultimately be up to her to wake up fully."

"She has to," Robert said firmly. He then gave both Eve and Kamake a curious expression. "You two are going to help just like that?"

"Team Radiance will do its part to fight the darkness that plagues this world," Eve smiled. "So we will help. Kamake," she turned to her Technical Officer. "Do what you can to wake her."

Robert watched as the tank began to glow and bubbles began shooting upwards through the water. The tree glowed faintly, the stark white color changing into multiple hues. Suddenly Robert was standing in a field of multicolored flowers, mountains in the distance and the sky a bright blue. Floettes floated on the wind and a Bunnelby hopped past his feet. A cry from above and a Talonflame soared through the air, followed by two Fletchinders.

He blinked. "O-okay. Where am I?" He turned around to see the ancient white tree rooted into the ground. A soft wind rustled its leafless branches and filled Robert with a calming presence.

_"You have come," _a soft voice spoke in the wind._"You have come to ask for my help in quelling Chaos."_

Robert stiffened, then said, "Yes. We need both the power of Life and Death if we want to stop Chaos from destroying the world. We need you."

The tree glowed red. _"And why should I!? Humans have done nothing but try to use my power for their own gain! Their cruelty in their hunger for immortality has shown just how much they value life! The reason I have chosen to stay in this form was to hide away from humankind and their greed! I will not help them now!"_

...

The helicopter touched down in a barren field surrounded by the mountains at the very edge of Kalos. As Alex stepped out, the dead grass crunched beneath her feet. A cluster of dead trees stood where a small forest might have once flourished. A dried riverbed snaked its way through the valley, leading towards the mountains.

"This place couldn't support any life," Alex commented, seeing the tip of a bone sticking out from the coarse dirt. "At least, not anymore."

"But one can," Sandra began walking across the field toward where a small hill rose from the ground. Laying atop it with his wings draping over the sides was Yveltal. As Alex followed Sandra, she noticed that the closer she got, the more that she felt an ominous presence seeping over her. A single blue eye kept itself trained on the advancing pair, but the legendary Pokemon didn't react, even when they arrived at the foot of the hill.

"Herald of Destruction," Sandra dropped to one knee. "We have come to ask for your assistance in defeating Chaos."

Yveltal lifted his head, but he didn't look at Sandra. Instead he lifted his body up, leaning down over Alex, eyes flashing._ "So you've come for my help, humans! And what makes you think I would help you when you have all proven to be untrustworthy!?" _He lowered his head, closing his eyes. _"I cannot help you. I have already caused too much unwarranted devastation." _His wings curled around himself, closing himself up._ "I can never protect Kalos again.."_

...

"But-!" Robert took a step forwards. "You're the Legendary Pokemon Xerneas, Mistress of Life! You must see that if Chaos enters the world death will come from it! How can you ignore that!?"

_"I have done humanity many deeds," _Xerneas spoke, the air humming with energy as the tree glowed redder. _"And all they've ever done was repay me with sin! You have brought upon this great evil on yourselves, so you must find your own way to solve your problem!"_

"This isn't just our problem!" Robert yelled, finding that he was getting uncharacteristically angry. "This isn't an evil we just brought upon ourselves! We have done what we could to stop all of this from happening! And you've already helped us before, so why refuse now!?" He clenched his fists, feeling as if he might just punch the aged bark. "This world, humans, Pokemon, all forms of life that live together on this unforgiving world; are you just going to let them all die!? Those who have just been given their first breath of freedom, those who haven't gotten to choose their path yet, those who have been unable to prove their worth! Are you just going to let all that die!? They are what make this world worth protecting! You represent Life itself! It is your _duty_ to preserve it!"

"We've made mistakes," he breathed, catching his breath as he glared at the tree, whose color had faded back to white. "Humanity has committed atrocity after atrocity. But there are so much more of us that fight to make this a better place to live. Can you really just let Chaos take all that possibility away!? To let us all die, along with all other life!?" He stepped forwards, slamming his fist against the bark with a loud _CRACK_! "CAN YOU!?"

...

"That's it?" Alex uttered in surprise. "That's it!? You're just going to go back to your ages-long slumber and let the world fall to ruin!?" Alex gave a short laugh. "Oh, well I guess you aren't called the _Herald of Destruction_ for nothing."

"Alex," Sandra grabbed her arm, but the blonde pulled away, staggering up the hill towards where the cocoon had nearly finished forming upright.

"No," she growled. "I will speak and you will listen, Yveltal! You are a protector of Kalos! Death and destruction may be your thing, but you cannot forget your _duty_! Your title was given to you because of what you did to Kalos' enemies, isn't that right!? Where is your sense of loyalty!? Your honor!?"

_"I have done what I can to protect this region," _Yveltal murmured, as if he was slipping away into nothingness. _"I have brought upon pain and devastation, but not on my enemies. I have wronged Kalos. I am unable to save it."_

"Oh stop your whining!" Alex planted her feet on the ground as she faced the cocoon. "Can you even hear yourself!? One mistake that wasn't even your fault! Team Flare used your energy to power the Ultimate Weapon, but that failed! You awoke and attacked the city because you had no idea what was going on! We don't blame you!"

_"You stopped the weapon and my rampage easily."_ His voice was fainter now. _"Humanity is capable of stopping Chaos without my help."_

"Maybe we are," Alex said, taking a step back, careful not to go tumbling down the side. "But will you really accept the possibility of the world being plunged into Chaos if we might fail?" She blinked away tears. "My friends are there fighting for Kalos. They are putting their lives on the line to stop what's coming. If you're so focused on your failure to this region, get back up and do something to save it! That is the only way to make amends! So save us! Save the region you swore to protect! Save Kalos!"

...

_"Robert Aspen." _Robert lifted his head as a soft breeze rustled his hair, flower petals slowly dancing by. The tree felt warm beneath his hand as it glowed with several different hues. _"He who seeks clarity. Thank you. I will come."_

"Hey! Hey kid!"

Robert's eyes snapped open as Eve shook him. "I'm here," he gasped. "I'm here. Is-"

"Yes," the leader of Team Radiance breathed as the room was filled with light. "She's waking up."

Robert blinked away the spots from his eyes as glass shattered and liquid burst from the tank, filling the area with steam. Soft clopping noises sounded on the ice as a large figure loomed over them. Her head lowered to meet Robert's gaze, her antlers pulsing with energy. He reached out a hand, touching the side of Xerneas' face. "No, thank you."

...

"We're leaving," Alex growled to Sandra as she climbed down the hill, heading for the helicopter. If Yveltal wouldn't help, then she needed to make her way back to Zeno's side as fast as she could.

A large cracking sound from behind made her stop. She turned to see the cocoon slowly unfurling as red light seeped through. With a cry, Yveltal's wings burst outwards, lifting his head to the sky. He set his blue gaze upon Alex, flying to land in front of her. _"You have a fire within you, young Alex. One that might just be enough to save all you love one day. Thank you for making me see what needs to be done."_ He lowered one wing, offering it to Alex. _"If I am to go and fight Chaos, you must come along as well."_

Alex glanced at Sandra, who nodded. "Go. I will find my own way back. So go and help your friends."

"Thank you," Alex smiled. "I'm sorry we ever doubted you."

"Think nothing of it," Sandra shook her head. "When this is all over, I will tell you all my story. But enough chatter. GO!" She gave Alex a soft push and she stumbled onto Yveltal's wing. She climbed aboard and gripped his mane of smoky-colored hair. He lifted off into the sky and soon they were soaring over the mountains, picking up speed.

_"I'm coming, Zeno."_ Alex's hold tightened. _"Just hang in there for a little longer."_

...

I took a step back as a long snout appeared from the rift, poison dripping onto the concrete, where it sizzled and melted. Rows of sharp teeth revealed themselves as Chaos forced her head through and opened her maw. Her eyes narrowed at me and a voice echoed around the chamber. "Soon I will be free from this accursed prison. Then you all shall be the first to die. Watch as your efforts to stop me fail, Hero Born of Darkness."

Orbs attached to nearby pillars glowed and shot tendrils of purple chaotic energy into the rift, forcing more of it to open. The Cultists formed a line in front of the rift, facing the prisoners and us. Their Ghost Pokemon floated around them as they slowly advanced. I heard Preston gulp beside me as I released all my Pokemon. All of them were going to be needed for this fight.

"Just you watch, Zanarchggon!" I spat. "We'll defeat you yet! My friends are bringing help and I know they won't fail! Chaos has only returned only to be defeated once more!"

_"Dance, little ones,"_ Zanarchggon growled in amusement. _"Show me the length of your stupidity." _She roared as she tried forcing the rift to open more with several giant claws and the Cultists surged forwards.

...

Sandra stood atop a ridge overlooking the region. She could sense the chaos spreading, filling the air. She lowered her hand, cupping the tiny green creature in her hands. She lowered her mouth to it and whispered, "Go. Life and Death have been brought to order. You have sworn to protect humanity, so go forth."

The creature leaped from the mountain, amassing dozens of green cells as it fell. Sandra tilted her head back, closing her eyes. "Now all that is left is for the Foreign Legend to awaken." She blinked her eyes open. "Save Kalos. Save what I could not 3000 years ago."

**This is part 1 of 3. This is where the battle for Kalos and the world ends, for better or worse. Till next time. Toodles**


	81. Chapter 79: A Noble Sacrifice

**Chapter 79: Life, Death, Order, and Chaos Pt. 2: A Noble Sacrifice**

"We have to save them!" Preston yelled, rushing forwards towards where Clara and the rest of the sacrifices were. With a grunt I managed to haul him back by the collar of his shirt as a ball of fire blasted where he had just been a second ago.

"Idiot!" I pulled him further back as Lucario bashed the Chandelure with Bone Rush. "Are you trying to get yourself killed!"

A yell made my head whip around to see Looker struggling in the air above Sebastian, a Dusknoir holding him in place with Psychic. The old Cultist laughed in glee as he picked up his knife.

"Mawile!" I yelled to my nearest Pokemon as I ran forwards. The Fairy type leaped forwards, jumping off of Sebastian's shoulder and used the momentum to drive herself into the Ghost type. Looker dropped to the ground as I jerked Sebastian's wrist and knocked the knife away. I kicked him in the side, sending him rolling across the ground.

Looker pulled himself onto all fours, groaning, but alive. "Thanks, Zeno." All around us, chaos reigned. All of my Pokemon were engaged in battle, Lucario and Greninja doing their utmost to protect Clara and the rest while Preston and the other Pokemon engaged the Cultists themselves.

"I-I don't even know what's going on!" A cry made both Looker and I look towards where Emma was kneeling next to a dying Xerosic. Tears had formed in her eyes, both clouded in sorrow and confusion. "Why!?"

Xerosic reached up with a shaking hand, and before it could fall, Emma grasped it. "Dear Emma," Xerosic coughed. "Your whole purpose was to be a sacrificial pawn. Somewhere along the line I-_urk!_" He coughed again, blood dribbling down the side of his face. "I... I must thank you. For your pure innocence. You don't deserve to die so young." His gaze wandered over to me. "You stopped Lysandre and his plans. You can stop this. My blood is indeed bringing Chaos back, but it is slow and painful for her. I wasn't the proper sacrifice." He stopped, paler than ever before and his breathing weaker. "I have done so much wrong. Perhaps this is my punishment."

"Xerosic, I-" Emma began, but Xerosic stopped her. "Emma, I created you and nearly damned you. Your love for others is both a strength and weakness. Think before you give a fool like me a chance ever again." He reached up his hand and this time cupped Emma's cheek. "Protec-_urk!_" He coughed up a glob of blood, struggling to hold on to this life. "Protect all you love. I have given you the power to do so. So use it..." His hand fell and he stared blankly skywards.

I yanked my attention away from them as an energy blast headed straight for us. A blur and Arcanine put himself in the way, taking the attack. He growled and stood over us as several Chandelures began charging attacks.

"We must win this battle," I said, standing next to my partner Pokemon. "Arcanine, Heat Wave!" I stared across the battlefield towards where Greninja was forcing back another Chandelure. I reached out my hand, fingers outstretched. "Greninja!"

_"The strongest of bonds must be forged."_

_"Only the strongest of bonds can overcome the darkness ahead."_

"This is it," I breathed, water surging around the Water type. His eyes flashed red from within as his gaze met mine. I let my eyes settle on each Pokemon of mine, each one fighting their absolute hardest. Corviknight soared over the battlefield, attacking one Pokemon then flying off to attack another. Mawile was fighting bravely against the Dusknoir, not letting a single attack from the opposition hit her. Bisharp, not as strong as the others, yet was showing just how powerful he could be as he fought alongside Preston's Raticate. Lucario was fighting beside Greninja against the Cultists to protect everyone they could. And Arcanine sped along the battlefield, using his speed and strength to fight.

Images of Alex, Robert, Clara, Preston, and everyone else I've forged friendship with flashed through my head. _"These are my strongest bonds, the ones that matter. I trust my two friends to make it back in time and they trust me to stay alive until then." _I clenched my hand into a fist, feeling a multitude of emotions swell within me. "Alright, Greninja! Let's take them!"

The water around Greninja surged outwards, slashing against two Chandelures and slamming them into a wall. He leaped forwards, directing the current and slamming it into a couple Cultists.

"Preston!" I yelled to him. He pushed a Cultist away and glanced towards me. "Focus on freeing everyone! We'll provide you some cover!" He nodded and he and Raticate ran onwards.

I sprinted forwards. Mawile joined me on my side as Corviknight flew just above my head. I threw out my hand and the Galar Pokemon soared straight into a Dusknoir that had been preparing to slam a ghostly fist towards us. I leaped to one side, using a Cultist's own momentum against her and flipping her onto her back by yanking on her outstretched arm. I twisted my head as a knife jabbed forwards and I quickly twisted the arm and the knife clattered to the floor. Mawile leaped past, slamming a Lampent away with her back jaw and blasting a Fairy Wind in several directions.

I risked a glance towards where Preston was slicing through the bonds. He was herding people away while Raticate, Lucario, and Greninja held the Cultists and their Pokemon at bay. A blast of energy sent me reeling. I saw Chaos trying to rip her way through the rift, excess violet energy blasting outwards.

"Arcanine!" I roared. "Flamethrower! Greninja, Water Shuriken!" Both Pokemon launched their attacks at Zanarchggon, making her roar in fury. Suddenly multiple tendrils of energy began snaking their way from the rift, inching closer and closer to where Preston was freeing everyone.

"Preston, hurry-!" I yelled, but had to cut myself off as two Cultists tried to grab me. I stumbled back, but Bisharp put himself between me and them, slashing his blades. He shattered their knives and sent them tumbling back with a blast of dark wind.

"Thanks," I breathed, grinning. I looked towards the pillars where multiple orbs were sending energy into the rift. "We need to destroy those." Bisharp nodded, already running towards the nearest one. I gave an order to Corviknight and he joined in destroying the orbs.

"Zeno!" Looker called my name and I looked to see him pointing towards the sewer tunnels, where more Cultists and Flare grunts were streaming out of. My heart sank. This wasn't good. A scream made me whip my head around again to see a the people closest to the rift and Chaos were being drained by the purple tendrils. Their life force seemed to be sucked out of them and were fueling Chaos. I saw Clara along with the remaining people that were still tied up scooting backwards to avoid the same fate.

I gritted my teeth, feeling the situation slipping beyond what little control we had to begin with. I narrowed my eyes, yelling, "Greninja! Arcanine! With me! Everyone else, hold off Chaos and free everyone!" I ran past Looker and Inteleon as they began herding Emma and Mimi away from the advancing Cultists and Flare grunts. I nodded to them and was immediately joined by Greninja and Arcanine as we ran for the enemy.

With a yell, I thrust out my hand. Arcanine became a blur, zigzagging through their ranks, blasting away Pokemon and bowling over the humans. Greninja and I attacked as one, slashing, blocking, parrying, and knocking people of their feet. I kicked someone in the chest as Greninja leaped over them, crashing a wave of water down on a Chandelure. Greninja slammed two grunts back as I used a water blade to slash a Lampent aside. We were surrounded in no time, Greninja and I being forced to fight back-to-back. I dropped to the ground, kicking out as Greninja spun, sending waves of water blasting in all directions. I jumped back to my feet, grabbing Greninja's webbed hands in mine. With a grunt, I swung him around, his glowing feet hitting against any Cultist and Pokemon that were close to us. I let go and Greninja was launched into the fray. He wrapped his cloak around a struggling Cultist and sent him into a group of others. The cloak exploded, blasting them all back.

I stood, hunched over as I was breathing harder. Greninja sent one last Pokemon flying away before returning to my side, his exhaustion mirroring my own. Arcanine padded forwards, only to start growling. I followed his gaze to see Zanarchggon ripping the rest of the way out of the rift, roaring as poisonous liquid spilled forth. She floated in the air, her Z-shaped body like a snake's. Her skin pulsed with purple light, black marks running along her body. Her head was narrow, piercing yellow eyes above a row of razor-sharp teeth. She wielded huge claws on both arms that dripped poison as she roared, the whole room shaking. She was nearly as big as the giant room, dwarfing all of us easily.

_"I HAVE RETURNED!" _Another roar shook the area, dust falling from the ceiling as the pipes overhead rattled against one another. She lowered her head to, her eyes making a shiver run down my spine. _"Now chaos shall reign across Kalos and the world. You worthless humans have outlived your usefulness."_ She raised one of her arms and the nearest Cultists dropped to their knees as purple tendrils struck their chests. They let out cried of agony before they went silent and collapsed, their bodies drained and lifeless. _"Now for the others."_ Zanarchggon turned towards where Preston and Clara were helping the last of the people trapped and raised her other claws.

"No!" I shouted, stumbling forwards, but I was too far away to do anything. Lucario unleashed a powerful burst of aura, disintegrating the tendrils. He leaped forwards, slamming a fist into the side of Chaos' face. She roared in fury and blasted the Steel type backwards with draconic energy from her maw.

"C'mon," I grunted, lifting myself onto Arcanine's back. Greninja leaped on as well and Arcanine bounded forwards. We leaped off as we drew closer and Greninja leaped into the air, swinging off his giant shuriken and blasting it against Zanarchggon's chest. Corviknight flew past, sending Air Slashes into her as Bisharp sliced with Guillotine. A wave of poisonous liquid burst from the floor, carrying my Pokemon away. Preston and Clara had finished getting everyone to safety and were rushing back to help.

The whole room began to shake. Chaos swung her claws and smashed several pillars into dust. She blasted Corviknight away with a blast of energy as her roar pushed Lucario and Greninja back. I felt my bond with the both of them begin to crumble and I nearly doubled over in pain.

_"You cannot hope to win, Hero Born of Darkness,"_ Chaos rumbled as I heard cracking noises far overhead. _"I do hope you survive to see the world thrown into eternal chaos, but I'm afraid you just might be buried along with everyone else here." _She reared back her head and blasted the roof with energy, shattering large section. Chunks of concrete and pillars came tumbling down on all sides and Greninja carried me off before a chunk could crush me. He twisted, blasting more concrete with several shurikens to destroy them.

Half of the large area was being covered by the destroyed ceiling. Zanarchggon floated amongst it all, half-obscured by dust. I hobbled forwards, supported by Greninja, who had reverted back to normal. I prayed Alex and Robert would make it in time as I shouted, "You haven't won yet, Chaos! We will defeat you!" Preston, Clara, Looker, Emma, and all our Pokemon stood by me, worn and exhausted, but unwilling to give in.

Our Pokemon surged forwards. Arcanine took the lead, fire surrounding him. Lucario and Greninja ran along either side, readying their attacks. Arcanine slammed into Zanarchggon, making her float several feet back as Greninja and Lucario jumped at the same time, slamming their fists into her head. She slashed her claws, sending both of them crashing into a wall as Arcanine sped away before he could get hit. Raticate latched onto her arm, biting down with extreme force. Corviknight dive-bombed her as Mawile and Bisharp attacked from behind. Inteleon and Mimi provided cover fire with Snipe Shot and chunks of concrete manipulated by psychic force. Clara's Barbaracle and Heliolisk blasted Zanarchggon with rocks and electricity and Chaos roared in fury. Her body began to glow a bright violet before a blinding light knocked us over and blasted our Pokemon away. I gritted my teeth, ignoring the pain as I lifted myself up. All our Pokemon were groaning on the ground aside from Arcanine, who bravely limped forwards, fire licking around his maw.

_"Foolish Pokemon,"_ Zanarchggon sneered as she bared her fangs. _"Know your place beneath me!" _A wave of purple wind ripped forwards, which Arcanine met with Heat Wave, forcing it back. He howled and both winds ceased as they rebounded. He roared and sped forwards, slamming into her front before racing away and blasting a Flamethrower into her side. Chaos turned to slash at him, but he was already gone, gaining speed as he attack from virtually all sides, giving the rest of our Pokemon time to fall back.

"Zeno, we have to retreat," Looker pulled me back. I resisted, but he was stronger. "We can't win. Now c'mon!"

As we all half-ran down the towards the nearest sewer tunnel, I glanced back to see Arcanine still evading Zanarchggon while still attacking. Then a lucky swipe caught him in the side and slammed him across the room. I jerked away from Looker, running for my Pokemon, who was trying to stand, refusing to back down. I unlatched my Pokeball, but dropped it due to the searing heat I felt from it. I clutched my burnt hand, seeing Arcanine staring at me. I blinked, then a shadow fell over us.

_"You are an infuriating Pokemon," _Chaos growled, leering down at Arcanine. _"You need to be taught your place!"_ Her eyes locked onto me. _"Watch as your trainer dies!"_ She blasted the ceiling above me and I had just enough time to glance upwards as concrete, pipes, and wires fell towards me.

The floor shook as heavy paw steps pounded the ground and a force slammed me aside. I skidded across the floor as a large crash filled my ears and a cloud of dust filled the air. Water pooled around Arcanine's unmoving form amongst the rubble as wires snaked across him and the concrete, sparking with electricity, charging the water. Water and sparks rained from above, preventing me from being able to get to him.

"No," I rasped, struggling to my knees, pushing myself away from the charged water as it crept closer.

_"What a foolish sacrifice._" Zanarchggon's body began to glow once more, chaotic energy buzzing through the air. _"For your end has come regardless, Hero Born of Darkness."_

**And... Cliffhanger. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon, but due to some potential IRL circumstances, I may not be able to for a while. Sorry for the potential inconvenience if said thing occurs. Anyway, till next time. Toodles!**


	82. Chapter 80: Beyond Evolution

**Chapter 80: Life, Death, Order, and Chaos Pt. 3: Beyond Evolution**

_CRACK!_

The ceiling shook, dust raining down upon us. I glanced upwards to see large cracks spreading across what remained of the ruined concrete. Another booming sound made the fissures spread wider. Then pink light spread along the lines, radiating energy before exploding. Zanarchggon roared as the ceiling collapsed around her and I watched as more rubble fell to bury us. I closed my eyes, only to realize I hadn't been crushed yet. I blinked through the dust as sunlight poured in from the sky high above us. The remains of the ceiling were floating via psychic energy before being slammed into Chaos, driving her back and making her topple over.

Two giant shapes fell into the hole, a whoop sounding from someone riding atop Xerneas. "Heck yeah! The cavalry has arrived!"

_"HOW DARE YOU-!"_ Zanarchggon began rising, only to be pushed back into the rubble by a blast of dark red energy. Yveltal let out a cry, lowering himself to the ground to let his rider disembark. She scanned the area, spotting me and running over.

"Alex," I croaked, stumbling forwards. "Watch for-_cough! _Water!"

Alex veered around the water, stopping for a brief moment as she caught sight of what lay amongst the charged water. She then rushed over to me, catching me as I began to fall over.

"Zeno," She whispered.

"You came," I coughed.

"I'm sorry I was too late." she touched her forehead to mine. I let myself soak in the moment, trying to block out the cruel world. I pulled away, glancing at all the people we managed to rescue. "We need to get them out of here."

"They got that covered," Alex said, glancing towards the sky. I followed her gaze to see several helicopters descending through the hole in the ceiling. I could see a woman with flaming red hair in the doorway of the closest one, her bright uniform reflecting the light of the sun.

"Radiance!?" I choked out in surprise, trying to stand, only to get hit by a wave of dizziness. Alex held me close as the ground rumbled and the sound of the three legendaries battling echoed all around. As Alex started leading me towards Eve's Helicopter, I glanced back at Arcanine. New energy surged through me and I wanted so bad to run to him, but the water would electrocute me in an instant.

A yelp made Alex and I whip around to see Clara struggling in Sebastian's grip, his knife pressed up against her throat. Emma was crouching feet away by Looker, who was holding his bleeding arm in pain, glaring at the Cultist leader. I instantly thought of when I was in this same exact position before. A small girl, Mira, about to meet a cruel fate.

"All you're struggling has been to no avail!" He laughed maniacally, foaming at the mouth. Clara tried to break free, but he pressed the blade harder, a droplet of blood pooling at one end. "Chaos has risen and there's no stopping her!"

"I won't-!" I took a step forwards, then fell to one knee, feeling pain course through me. I was in no state to help her. I looked on helplessly, just like before, as I knew I was about to watch my friend die.

"PATHETIC!" Sebastian howled with laughter. "Now watch, Hero Born of Darkness, as your dear friend is sacrificed to the All-Powerful One!" He seemed to relax, as if he saw what he was about to do in his mind.

A sudden yell made me jerk. Preston lunged forwards, closing his hand around the jagged blade before the Cultist could slice Clara's neck. Her eyes widened as Preston gritted his teeth in pain, blood flowing from his hand as he struggled against Sebastian's force. With a grunt, he began pulling the knife away from Clara, allowing her to slip free. The former Team Rocker member thrust his face close to Sebastian's, hand still gripping the knife tightly. "If you think you'll get your way after everything, think again! I won't let you hurt her!" He jerked the Cultist's arm down before slamming a fist into his face. Preston yelled, closing his bloody hand into a fist and swung it into Sebastian's stomach, making him double over and collapse.

Preston relaxed his hand, breathing hard. Without warning, Sebastian lurched upwards as if possessed, stabbing Preston in the stomach. His eyes widened as he opened his mouth, coughing up blood.

"NO!" Clara yelled, yanking Sebastian away and slamming him into the wall. The old Cultist slumped to the ground, blood tricking from his mouth as his eyes stared far into the distance.

Preston fell to his knees, the knife still embedded in him. He tried to speak, but couldn't manage. Clara gripped his shoulders in panic. "You stupid idiot! Why'd you go and do this!?"

Someone pulled Clara away, sticking a needle into Preston. Kamake glanced up and ordered, "Help me with him!" Clara acted immediately, helping the Team Radiance scientist to carry Preston towards the closest helicopter.

"We need to get you out of here, Zeno," Alex urged me, tugging me along. I returned my Pokemon as I went, all too aware that I was one pokeball short. Greninja stayed out, helping me with Alex to get me to the helicopter where Eve was urgently hurrying us onwards.

"Get us out of here!" She yelled to the pilot as soon as we were aboard. The aircraft lifted off, but rocked as a gust of wind blew us dangerously close to the concrete wall. I looked to see Yveltal beating his wings, blasting air against Zanarchggon. She floated upwards, wrapping her tail around the Destruction Pokemon and slamming him into the wall as Xerneas fired a gigantic Moonblast into her. Chaos ripped through it, dousing Xerneas in a wave of poison.

The helicopter jerked upwards and I nearly fell out of the helicopter before Alex caught me and slammed the door shut. "No," I grunted, pushing her away. I grabbed ahold of a side bar and gripped it tightly as I pulled the door back open. We had risen from the hole now and were flying above Lumiose. I could see emergency vehicles on every street and International Police Officers herding people away. The gaping hole took a small chunk from the city and the three legendaries still battled within, Zanarchggon trying to rise from it, but kept being pushed down by Yveltal and dragged by huge vines from Xerneas.

Greninja stood beside me as the helicopter circled the hole. I clenched a shaking fist, Greninja's eyes narrowed. "We won't stop fighting here, not while we still have breath within us." My knuckles turned white as I felt a surge of emotions flood through me. "For Arcanine."

"Greninj," Greninja agreed, tugging his tongue tighter around his neck before leaping out into the open air. Water surged around him, tightening into a bullet-shaped missile. He zoomed back into the hole, slamming into Zanarchggon, sending her crashing into the wall with a roar of pain. Greninja leaped backwards, cloak flapping in the wind as he directed the water around him into a large blade. He swung, the water breaking up as it slashed into Chaos.

A vine wrapped around his middle, jerking him out of the way as Chaos slashed downwards with poison tipped claws. Greninja was flung back into the air as Xerneas slammed her horns into Zanarchggon, draining her life force. Yveltal blasted another dark energy beam, absorbing more life energy.

Zanarchggon roared, the skies far above turning a dark violet color. Her body glowed with power as she surged forwards, sinking her fangs into Xerneas side, yellow eyes flashing. Dark leathery wings sprouted from her back with a powerful blast of wind, slamming into Yveltal and cutting off his attack. Greninja slammed his foot down on her head, which suddenly sprouted horns and made the Water type bounce off. A beam of violet energy ripped from her maw, slicing through the earth and blasting into the sky, blowing apart the clouds.

A small green creature formed into existence on the side of the helicopter before immediately turning into a beam of green light, shooting towards something running across the rooftops of Lumiose. More beams arced across the sky, blasting down as the shape became larger. It sped up, becoming a blur as it dived into the hole and crashed into Zanarchggon with a loud boom. Zygarde skidded back along the ground, his Z-shaped body glowing green. Xerneas stood to his left as Yveltal hovered on his right. Greninja landed in front of the Order Pokemon, his cloak gone as a large shuriken gleamed on his back.

_"So you have all come to stop me,"_ Chaos growled. _"XY&Z!"_

_"I could not stand idle as life was harmed,"_ Life's antlers glowed with a radiance of colors._ "Not when the humans and Pokemon of this world haven't given up hope."_

_"Death is eternal." _A dark blood red aura enveloped Death. _"But there must be a balance."_

"There must be order," Order's voice echoed around the area. _"Chaos is a force that helps bind this world in perfect harmony, but too much of it will upset the world."_

"GRENIN!" Greninja cried, standing tall as he clenched both fists.

_"I have awaited this moment for an untold number of years!"_ Zanarchggon roared, dark liquid pooling beneath her, creeping closer and closer to her enemies. _"I have amassed followers over many generations as I slowly conserved my power! My vengeance must be fulfilled and this world must be mine! Chaos will rule all! And you cannot stop me!"_

She shot out her arms and the liquid surged forwards. Greninja flung off his shuriken, using it as a shield as it grew and spun upright. Yveltal flew straight up, body glowing with golden light. The ground cracked around Xerneas nimble feet as multicolored lights shone around her. Zygarde grew larger, becoming 100% of what he is capable of. All four of his limbs that hung from his shoulders sprang up, maws opening as they blasted draconic energy, disintegrating most of the poison. His body glowed green as he zoomed forwards, slamming into Zanarchggon. She plunged her claws into him, flinging him upwards where she blasted him with a powerful beam of violet energy.

Grass popped up along the cracked concrete, beautiful flowers with sweet aromas sprouted, and tall lush trees surrounded Zanarchggon. They glowed with light before exploding around her. Chaos flew skywards, body glowing as she slammed into Yveltal, who was diving for her. She bit his right wing, swinging him back down to earth. Greninja leaped atop the Destruction Pokemon and jumped off of him. His tongue whipped outwards, stretching to wrap around Zanarchggon's tail as she flew into the sky above Kalos.

Xerneas laid her antlers on Yveltal, giving him more energy before falling to her front knees. Yveltal burst back into the air, body glowing with an array of lights. Zygarde appeared above Chaos, slamming his fist towards her head. She pulled herself back, flipping in the air and flinging Greninja into Zygarde. She flew to the right as Yveltal screamed past, coming to a halt just above her. He held out his three wings wide, each one glowing a darker shade of red before firing nearly a dozen energy beams. Zanarchggon twisted and turned like a snake on land, dodging each attack before finally getting blast in the side. She barely had time to recover from the attack before Greninja slammed a shuriken into her head before running down the length of her twisting body, slashing with two blades as he went.

Zanarchggon twisted, snapping at Greninja before he leaped off and extended his tongue. Zygarde grabbed hold and flung Greninja higher before slamming his fist into Chaos. She lurched back and was engulfed in a beam of darkness. A giant glowing tree grew with alarming speed from the ground, slamming into her back before dissolving away. Chaos roared, firing a beam of energy from her maw as she carved through the sky, blasting Yveltal in the wings and Zygarde in his side.

Zygarde began storing up power, a glowing Z being shaped in front of him. Zanarchggon streaked towards him, fangs glowing. Yveltal crashed into her, tightening his talons into her side and blasting her at close range with multiple beams. She twisted her head around, grasping his leg and tearing him off. She blasted him towards the city below and turned back to Zygarde, only for Greninja to land on her back and use his tongue to hold her back with all his strength. She flung him off, but Zygarde shot out his hands, blasting all of his energy into her. An explosion ripped through the sky, blowing Zygarde back as he shot out his hand to grasp Greninja.

A shape flew upwards, drawing a Z in the air with violet energy that blasted into Zygarde, sending him earthwards, but not before tossing Greninja upwards. Greninja roared, feet and arms glowing as he slammed his foot upwards, slamming it into Zanarchggon's jaw. He twisted his body around, slamming a fist into her eye. He formed a Water Pulse, blasting it at point-blank range and used that energy to propel himself backwards and avoiding Chaos's fangs and claws. She fired another beam of energy straight towards him, but he pulled off his shuriken, slamming it down on the beam, shaking as he struggled to make sure the shuriken didn't break. An explosion sent him higher into the sky and Chaos flapped her leathery wings and ascended after him. Greninja raised the shuriken above him, dark thunderclouds forming. Lightning struck the shuriken, morphing it to several times its original size and turning it a gleaming black with electricity running across it. Greninja roared as he dived for Zanarchggon, flinging the massive shuriken. It spun faster and faster, zooming towards Chaos. Her eyes widened as she swung her claws, slamming the giant shuriken aside. It spun off course and crashed into the hole in the city with an explosion of water and electricity.

Greninja reverted back to his regular form as he fell, no longer able to put up a fight. Zanarchggon roared with delight, ready to snatch him out of the air with her maw before Yveltal flew by, grasping Greninja with his talons. A blast of energy hit him in the back and he was sent spiraling down to earth. He crashed next to the gaping hole, Greninja rolling out onto the cobblestone street, bruised and unconscious.

The helicopter set down close by and I stumbled out, making my way over to my Pokemon. I lifted him up and he struggled to open his eyes and let out a weak croak. I hugged him gently and looked back up to Chaos, outlined by the violet sky. She hovered lower, just above the rooftops as her yellow eyes flashed.

_"You have all been defeated,"_ Chaos spoke, the sky darkening above her. _"Life and Death have been conquered and Order has fallen! I win! **Chaos wins!**"_

I stand, my whole body screaming in pain. But I was helpless to do anything now. I-

Light began radiating from Yveltal. He still lay slumped on the ground, but his blue eyes were focused and determined. He began curling back up in a cocoon, dark red light pooling around him and flowing into the large hole. I looked to see Xerneas still below, turning back into a tree, her light spilling out around her as well. Electric currents ran along the ground and walls, making me stumble away from the edge as a spark nearly hit me in the face.

"What's happening?" Alex asked, eyes wide as she steadied me.

The sound of thunder above made us jump and a jagged bolt of lightning arced down into the hole, lighting it up with energy. I felt something inside of me stir, something that hadn't fully died away. I stumbled forwards onto my knees, gripping the edge of the crater as I felt something spike within me.

A blast of white and golden light surged upwards, shooting up into the sky. Something zoomed out of the hole, slamming into Zanarchggon before landing on top of a building. The shape moved in a blur, striking Chaos again and again like a bolt of lightning. Fire blasted against one side as lightning struck the other.

Zanarchggon blasted poison all around her, but each splatter was blasted with flames. Energy began gathering around her and she blasted it outwards. The chaotic energy ripped up the streets and tore through the surrounding buildings, but then fizzled out as it came into contact with a spark of electricity. A ball of fire formed behind her and crashed into her with a fiery explosion. The shape sped away, coming to a stop between us and Chaos.

"Arcanine," I whispered in awe.

He stood proud and tall, his body leaner than before. His fur flickered with fire and electricity as his dark amber eyes narrowed at Chaos. The spiky fur near the bottom of his legs shot out behind him like rough lightning bolts. His mane of fur along with his bushy tail were an amber fire color, the fur lining his body a darker orange with yellow wavy stripes like flickering flames. His two front fangs had grown slightly longer with his height reaching nearly 7 feet. He crouched, spreading his paws as his stripes began glowing, charging with electricity. His bushy fur whipped along in the wind, fire and electricity sparking. He roared, taking a running leap and zooming into Zanarchggon again, making her roar in pain and fury.

_"What are you!?"_ She screeched. _"You're not possible!"_

She slammed Arcanine away and he crashed into a building. He leapt out, blasting a powerful Flamethrower into her before curling into a wheel of blue fire. He spun into Chaos before bouncing back, skidding along the road.

Zanarchggon fired a beam of energy at him, which he blasted apart with Heat Wave. Wisps of small clouds began forming around Arcanine, crackling with fire and electricity. A lightning bolt shot from the sky, blasting and lighting him up with energy. He roared as he ran forwards, going faster than he ever has before. Violet energy blasted from Chaos in a sphere, but Arcanine blazed right through it, slamming into her with an explosion of fire and electricity, the sound of thunder echoing across the city. Arcanine leaped back as Zanarchggon roared in pain as fire and electricity encircled her, making her writhe about. Zygarde flew above her, punching her to the ground before blasting the ground with draconic energy, forming a glowing Z. It glowed brighter and brighter before exploding. The blast was so powerful it ripped the air beneath Chaos, sucking her into a newly formed rift.

_"NO!"_ She cried out, dragging her poisonous claws along the ground as she forced her way towards Arcanine. _"I WILL NOT BE FORCED BACK IN THERE!"_

Arcanine blasted her with more fire and electricity, the energy sapping her own. She roared as the rift's pull became stronger, sucking her halfway inside. Her wings began to smoke, holes being ripped in them. One of her horns snapped in half and the piece fell into the rift.

I stood, catching Zanarchggon's eye. "Goodbye, Chaos."

_"NOOOOOOOOOO-!"_ She roared before being cut off entirely as she disappeared and Arcanine blasted the rift with a a charged Flamethrower, sealing it shut before it collapsed in on itself, winking out of existence.

I stumbled forwards as Arcanine padded over to me, nuzzling my chest. I sobbed in relief, hugging his massive head as I finally began to hear the sirens wailing around us. The sky had cleared, almost making it feel like any other ordinary day in Kalos, with the final summer sun shining down upon the region.

**Alright, time to explain Zanarchggon's name! The "Z" of course is to symbolize the fact of XY&Z. "Anarch" symbolizes anarchy. "Hggon" would be for Nidhogg or Níðhöggr, the dragon/serpent who gnaws at the roots of the World Tree in Norse Mythology. **

**So, how'd I do? Was it epic or what? Arcanine is alive, which I'm sure you all are thankful for. But, he's back with an all new look and moves! Further details will have to wait! Chaos has been defeated and returned to the Chaos realm and the city of Lumiose once again suffers damage. Can't catch a break can they? Anyway, I have 2 chapters and an Epilogue left to wrap things up. With school delayed again for me, I definitely should have enough time to finish LDOC. The end is nearly upon us. Till next time. Toodles**


	83. Chapter 81: Arcaneis

"Glad to see you back on your feet." Robert slapped me in the back, grinning like the fool he was. "Again."

"Yeah yeah," I smiled warmly as the three of us exited the Lumiose hospital. "So, any updates?"

"Let's see," Alex tapped her chin with a finger. "Interpol is still hanging around in case any remnants of Team Flare and the Cult are hanging about. Rebuilding Lumiose from everything that's happened is going fast. Even that hole is nearly fixed."

"What about Xerneas and Yveltal?" I asked.

"I can answer that," Robert said, pushing imaginary glasses up his nose. "Sycamore took charge over them while they're in their dormant state. He's even accepted Team Radiance's offer to help."

"Really?" I folded my hands behind my head as we walked down a street, people and Pokemon going about their daily lives as if previous incidents never occurred. The only difference was that we would get the occasional stare as people recognized us as the ones who helped save Kalos and the world. "Wow, I guess they really have changed under Eve's leadership."

"Yep," Robert pulled out his Holo Caster and brought up an article page. "This just came up yesterday at the same time Sycamore made his decision. It seems Team Radiance will be recognized as Nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the environment and those in need, both people and Pokemon."

"I would still keep an eye on that Kamake," Alex snorted as we turned a corner. "I don't trust a single blue hair of hers." She tilted her head slightly, then went, "Oh yeah! The testing done on Emma has all come back positive and she's still under Looker's care at his office. Then there's Ash and Serena, but they've already come to see you about that, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, just two days ago." I thought back to then, as Ash revealed what was next in his journey to become a Pokemon Master.

...

_"So you'll be discharged in a couple days?" Serena asked._

_"Uh huh," I sat up in the hospital bed as Ash and Serena stood at the side. Both our Greninjas stood at our sides. "That'll teach me to take on a cult."_

_"I don't think it will," Ash chuckled._

_"No," I said seriously. "I don't think it will either."_

_"So," I smiled brightly. "What brings you two lovebirds here?"_

_Serena blushed pink as Ash smiled sheepishly. He coughed into his fist. "Well, I take it Alex and Robert told you the news."_

_I shrugged. "They said you were dating now, which isn't much of a surprise. But they said you also had something else you wanted to say in person."_

_"Right," Ash nodded. "I'm going to start training for the Kalos Champion's League. I intend to defeat Diantha using the full power of the bond Greninja and I share." He held out his hand to me. "Zeno, I want to thank you again. You and Greninja really pushed us beyond our limits. I also think you helped us see that there is more to this bond potential than we could have imagined."_

_I grasped his hand as our Greninja's embraced. "Ash, once you become Champion, I hope you'll do Greninja and I the honor of battling you at full strength."_

_Ash grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."_

_"So," I looked at the both of them. "I did hear the Champion's League will be postponed for a while. Why not take a vacation first?"_

_"I mean," Ash glanced at Serena. "Why not both?"_

_"Ash Ketchum," Serena tutted, smiling. "I agree with Zeno. We should take some time to relax after everything."_

_"Actually," I stroked my chin. "I think I have the perfect place for you two. It's nice and tropical and I think it would prove quite a challenge to you and your Pokemon..."_

...

"So they booked a flight to Alola?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you have warned Hau?"

"Now," I smirked. "That would be assuming Hau would need a warning. If anything, I should have warned Ash." I glanced at Alex. "Where are we going anyway?"

"A park that's been mostly untouched," she responded, leading us down another street. "I figured we might relax a bit before going to Looker's office."

"Plus," Robert held up his modified Pokedex. "I got some information I want to share."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Oh Arceus. He's been wanting to talk so badly for days that he just wouldn't shut up about it. And he wouldn't even tell me."

"You mean..." I raised an eyebrow.

Robert grinned and held up Arcanine's pokeball, which I had given to him so he could run some tests before anyone else. He was practically bouncing with excitement. "C'mon! Let's hurry!" He took off at a run, but Alex and I continued walking at a leisurely stroll.

"What are your plans now?" Alex asked suddenly.

"Huh?" I blinked. "I... I don't really know." I held up Greninja's pokeball. "This journey, the whole reason I decided to take on the Kalos League, it was for him. His life was a thin spool of thread, destined to run out soon. And now since that's all changed..."

"You don't know whether to rest or continue onwards," Alex guessed, smiling gently.

"Something like that, yeah," I said softly, tucking the pokeball away. We walked in silence for another minute before Alex spoke again.

"Zeno," She stopped in front of me, our gazes meeting. "Whatever you decide to do, wherever you decide to go, I want to come with you. I don't want this to be like Alola. Where you go, I wish to go as well."

I felt a smile spread across my face. "Is that you asking or you telling me how things are just going to be?"

She smirked, one hand resting on her hip. "As if I would give you a choice this time." She took a step closer, smirk fading. "Zeno, I-"

"Hey, you two!"

Alex spun around with a start as Robert waved to us from the next corner. He wore grin that said he planned this. "You coming or what?"

"Ohhhh," Alex growled, marching over to him, tightening both fists. The grin disappeared from Robert's face and he turned and ran. He didn't make it very far.

...

"Alright then," Robert announced as Alex and I took our seat on the bench. He rubbed the back of his head where Alex had hit him, but he looked as cheerful as ever. "I thank you again, Zeno, my friend, buddy, pal. For letting me be the first to research Arcanine."

"Yeah yeah," I waved my hand dismissively. "Get to the goods."

Robert bowed dramatically and let out Arcanine. My partner Pokemon shook himself, amber tail wagging as he spotted me. He nuzzled me with his massive head and I could feel a small jolt shoot up my body.

"That will definitely take some getting used to," I laughed, rubbing his mane of amber fur. "It does feel nice to pet though." Arcanine barked happily and began bounding around the park.

Robert cleared his throat. "Anyway, this is clearly another evolution of Arcanine's. I-"

"But how is that even possible?" Alex interrupted. "I mean, Arcanine's evolution line has been just Growlithe and Arcanine ever since they were first documented."

"I was actually assuming Arcanine was stuck in a Mega Form," I grinned sheepishly. "That or a bond form similar to Greninja's."

"But you're both wrong," Robert wagged a finger. "I thought of those as well, but mega evolution has a pretty unique signature. And so does bond energy. But this is evolution energy. It's different from most other evolution energies however. Not only did it use the combined power from Xerneas and Yveltal, but the only other time I got a reading like this was when Nebby evolved."

"When Nebby..." I looked at Arcanine, who had appeared behind us and towered over us. He licked my head, spiking it with electricity. "You mean, Arcanine is now a Legendary Pokemon?"

"I mean, he's already been designated as one," Robert pointed out. "I doubt this is a new thing either. Very early documentations of Arcanine state that they were not only a Legendary Pokemon in a specific region, but that they were capable of running 6,200 miles in just 24 hours. But there has been no proof of any Arcanine going that fast or being able to go for that long. But," Robert gave a small, satisfied smile. "I believe an Arcaneis could."

"Arcaneis?" Alex and I both looked questioningly at Robert.

"I mean," Robert rubbed his hands together in glee. "I am the one who researched him first. So obviously I get to name the species. The name Arcaneis is a play off of two words. The first being Arcane, which is the same with Arcanine. The second word I used was Galvanism. Some of the testing I did on Arcaneis showed that he generates electricity through chemical means, which makes Galvanism the perfect word to use. The original idea for his name was Arcaneism, but I decided to drop the "m"."

"I'll take your word for it," I scratched the underside of my Pokemon's chin. "Arcaneis, eh? How about it? Do you like it?" My Pokemon howled to the sky, a sound that blasted our eardrums and assaulted anyone's hearing that were at the park.

"I THINK HE LIKES IT!" Robert held his ears, which were likely ringing like mine.

After a couple minutes, I asked, "So, is he an Electric type as well now?"

"Fire and Electric," Robert nodded. "That right there is a highly unique dual typing not seen in many Pokemon. I've also taken the liberty of testing his stats. His attacks are more powerful now. And his speed is leagues better now! If you thought he was fast as an Arcanine, just wait until you get into an open field." He scrolled through his device's screen. "Now, about his ability. Justified is no more. He has what I've dubbed, _Lightning Speed_!"

Alex opened her mouth to say something, but Robert held up a finger. "Nuh uh. I speak. You don't." He held his finger higher. "Any attack involving his body as the weapon seems to carry both fire and electricity with it. That will include, but not only, Flame Wheel, Flare Blitz, and Extreme Speed."

"Okay," Robert took a breath. "I got two other things about Arcanine that needs explaining. One being his new move. You saw him use it against Zanarchggon. He seems to pull heat and electricity from outside sources to add to this move's power and condenses into clouds of energy. It can either be used physically or specially. And I call it... _Burning Tempest_!"

"You're really enjoying this," Alex commented.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Robert sighed and sat in-between us on the bench. "The second thing about Arcaneis is that the power you saw him display against Chaos, he's lost most of that since the battle."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

Robert ruffled his hair with one hand. "It means... I think he got a temporary power buff from Xerneas and Yveltal when he evolved. His power and energy levels have leveled out at this point, so all should be good." He chuckled. "Man, I can't wait to report my findings to Professor Juniper. It'll be great to be at the Lab again."

I leaned forwards, glancing at him. "You're going back to Unova?"

"It's always been the plan," Robert smiled sadly. "This journey, this was unexpected, but totally worth every minute. Well, maybe not all the death and chaos, but I like to look on the positive side of life." He glanced at both of us. "You two will see me off later, right?"

"Later?" Alex's eyebrows shot up. "You mean to say you're leaving today?"

"The early Pidove catches the Sewaddle," Robert joked. "I'm catching an ocean liner later to Unova. It's time I headed home."

I shared a glance with Alex and nodded. "Yeah, of course we'll see you off. The least we can do for our friend."

"Well," Robert smiled as he clasped his knees and stood. "I have a couple hours left before I need to go. Enough time to say my goodbyes I think."

"We should go to Looker and Emma first," Alex stood as well. I rose beside them, only to stop as I spotted two familiar people walking towards us. One a dark skinned woman and the other a freakishly tall aged homeless man with a dark colored Floette hovered between them

"I was wondering if you were ever going to show up again," Alex remarked.

"We're here now," Sandra said with a glance to AZ, then back to the three of us and Arcaneis. "Both of us."

**One chapter left to go... Oh boy, this doesn't feel real. I hope you guys like what I did with Arcaneis. Pronounced either Are-cane-ee-es or Are-cane-es. Till the last chapter folks. Toodles**


	84. Chapter 82: The Parting of Ways

_3000 years ago, there was a man. His beloved Pokemon was sent to fight a war in which it would never return. Upon receiving the tiny coffin of his dear friend, he was lost in grief and rage. This man built a machine that brought his Pokemon back to life. But his anger at those causing the war couldn't be satisfied. He turned a machine that created life into one that rained down death. The Ultimate Weapon, a device that brought an end to the war, but at a terrible price. His Pokemon, having seen what was done, left the man. With the deaths of so many upon his shoulders, he wanders the Earth, searching endlessly for his Pokemon..._

_3000 years ago, there was a man. His beloved Pokemon was sent to fight a war in which it would never return. Upon receiving the tiny coffin of his dear friend, he was lost in grief and rage. This man sought out someone to help build a machine that could bring back his dearest friend. He met a woman who would one day become his wife and together they created the Life-Giving machine. His Pokemon was brought back to life and he could have been happy then, both with his wife and beloved Pokemon. But his anger at those causing the war couldn't be satisfied. He turned a machine that created life into one that rained down death. The Ultimate Weapon, a device that brought an end to the war, but at a terrible price. His Pokemon, having seen what was done, left the man. His wife, having lost the man she thought she knew, left for the farthest unknown regions of the world. With the deaths of so many upon his shoulders and the sorrow for those he lost, the man wanders the Earth, searching endlessly for his Pokemon..._

...

"I am that woman," Sandra revealed. "The one who helped construct the Ultimate Weapon many, many generations ago. I was this fool of a King's wife."

AZ let out a rumble, which I realized was a laugh. "A fool I was. Now I hope I am more than that."

"You're still a fool," Sandra snorted, crossing her arms. She looked back at us. "Congratulations on defeating Chaos. I'm sure it must have been difficult."

I glanced at Arcaneis. "It could have been a lot worse."

She nodded, stepping forwards to stand in front of Arcaneis, who stood just 2 feet shorter than AZ. "So this is the one Kalos was waiting for."

Robert clasped his hands. "OH! He was the Foreign Legend!"

"It would seem so," Sandra murmured as I blinked in shock at my Pokemon. "I did not foresee his destiny, and even now, much is hidden." She stepped back. "It was a pleasure to have met all of you. But I'm afraid we shall not part on a happy note."

"What downer do you have for us now?" Robert groaned.

Sandra stayed solemn faced. "Much still lies ahead of you all. Destiny may arrive sooner than you would hope and tragedy will threaten your hearts. I only pray the darkness won't be too much to bear."

"Downer indeed," Alex sighed, shaking her head. "Honestly, after everything," she smiled. "I think we can handle ourselves."

I nodded in agreement. "Whatever comes, we'll be ready."

...

"Thanks for dropping by," Looker held the door open for us as we stepped into his office. Emma was at Looker's desk, writing something down as Mimi slept curled up on her lap. "I hear you're leaving, Robert."

"What, did you use your position in Interpol to check my payments?" Robert raised an eyebrow. "But yes, I'm leaving. Aren't you?"

"Not for a couple more days," Looker straightened his trench. "I still have some last things I need to wrap up here."

"So you are leaving?" Emma set down the pen, blinking at Looker.

His face softened. "Yes, Emma. This office isn't for me to run, it was only part of my job."

"Then what'll happen to it?" Emma stood, making Mimi hover in the air before settling on the ground. "You've helped so many people. What if they need you?" She looked on the verge of tears.

Looker stepped towards her, hesitating, then placed a hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't leave unless I knew I was leaving it in good hands."

"Huh?" Emma's eyes sparkled with tears.

A soft smile spread across Looker's features. "I'm officially leaving you in charge of this office and its legal owner. I know I can trust you to handle the business well."

"I-I'll do my best!" Emma squeaked, then grew red. She hurried over to the desk, shuffling through the papers. "I'm going to have a lot to do when you're gone! Augh! Where did those papers go!?"

Looker chuckled as I asked him, "So, I heard the tests went well for Emma. What exactly was the purpose of them?"

Looker glanced over at Emma, who was now rifling through the drawers. "I needed to know how Emma was created and what made her the perfect sacrifice."

"And?"

"She was grown in a growth tank," Looker started. "At a much faster rate than normal humans. But the only thing we could find that they modified was her brain. More specifically, her cerebrum. I've spent a lot of time with Emma and I've seen her qualities. Her greatest are her being able to see the good in anyone and being trusting. However, I think that is also her greatest weakness."

"So she was created to be good and trusting," Alex said, catching my eye. "Then, she's a pure soul. That's why she was the perfect sacrifice."

"Exactly," Looker nodded sadly. "But that isn't her destiny anymore. I don't know what is, but the fact that she was created specifically to be sacrificed, we don't entirely know what effects will happen to her body in the long term. Nothing suspicious was found, but that doesn't mean nothing won't happen." He watched as Emma accidently knocked over a cup full of pens and pencils. She chuckled as Mimi caught it with her psychic powers and put it back on the desk.

Looker took a breath. "I do have to leave still, but I've asked a colleague I know well in this city to keep an eye on her and give her regular check-ups."

"You think she'll be okay?" Alex asked, sympathy for Emma clear in her eyes.

"I have to hope," Looker said, with maybe a slight tone of regret. "She has a ton of room to grow and I hope giving her some responsibility will help." He shook his head. "You scheduled a ship over in Coumarine, right? I could get a helicopter to fly you three over if you want. It's the least I can do for what you've all done."

"Ah, and here I was thinking I would just fly a Pokemon over there," Robert rubbed his head. "Helicopter might be comfier now that I think about it."

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "You wanted us to ride Pokemon all the way over there just to say goodbye? Robert, let me tell you something..."

As they talked, I headed over to where Emma was now standing in front of a closet. She only gazed at it, not moving.

"You alright?" I asked.

She stirred. "What?"

I snapped my fingers. "You're just staring at the closet. What's in there?"

"Oh, sorry," she looked apologetic. "It's my suit." She pulled it open to reveal the Essentia suit. "Looker decided to let me keep it. Though, it was only used for evil purposes. I wonder if I should just throw it out..."

"Why'd you keep it in the first place?" I raised an eyebrow. "What's making you hesitate?"

She looked sheepish. "Well..." Mimi tugged on her leg, giving her a look with her wide eyes. Emma smiled softly. "I guess, well, I'm more powerful with it on. Maybe it would allow me to protect others instead of harming them."

"What, you mean be a hero?" I smiled. "Like Blaziken Mask?"

She turned crimson. "I, uh... I guess." She trailed off, turning her head away slightly. "It's a stupid idea."

"No," I shook my head, making her turn in surprise. "I don't think it is. I actually think it's a brilliant idea."

"Really?" she blinked at me.

"Really," I nodded. "Maybe that's why you're here today. To be someone who can help others."

"Protect all you love," Emma whispered, staring at the suit. "That's what Xerosic said before he died. You know, he seemed cold at first, all business-like. But once I had gotten to know him better, he was nice and caring." She looked at me. "In the short time since I've been created, I've grown to love this city. And Xerosic said he gave me the power to protect." She took a shuddering breath. "I'll do it. I'll protect Lumiose from any future disasters."

"It's in good hands," I said, knowing that it would be with someone as caring as her.

...

"Thanks again, Looker!" The three of us waved as the helicopter lifted off with him standing in the open doorway. I cracked a grin. "I'm sure we'll meet again!"

"With your track records, I can count on it!" Looker yelled back, grinning as he closed the door and the helicopter lifted off back into the sky.

"So you said you contacted other people to meet us here?" Alex asked Robert as we headed through Coumarine City to the docks.

"Yep," he nodded. "Wouldn't be a proper send-off for me otherwise."

"Glad to know you're thinking of yourself," Alex snorted with laughter.

The cool ocean breeze hit us as we walked onto the open docks. A huge ship was waiting with its side to us, the wooden rams lowered to the ground. People and Pokemon were already filing onto the ship, but a small crowd drew our attention. Diantha seemed to be in deep conversation with Piers as he leaned on his mic as Jessie, James, and Meowth faced Clara and Preston, who had their backs to us. Eve had two Radiance grunts with her as she showed something to Professor Sycamore on a tablet. Then-

"Oh Zeno dear!" Princess Allie cried out, rushing towards me.

"You didn't!" I croaked as I shot a glare at Robert.

He smirked. "Better watch out."

Princess Allie hit me head-on, wrapping her arms around me and rubbing her head against my chest. I shot a "help me" look to Alex. She sighed, grasping the back of Allie's dress and hauled her off me. She then gripped the Princess' wrist. "How about you hang out with me, Princess." It wasn't a question Allie could easily refuse, especially not with the look Alex had on her face.

"It's good to see you three all safe," Diantha said as everyone walked over. "It doesn't seem like words will ever be enough to thank you all for what you've done for my region."

"I share that sentiment," Sycamore nodded, smiling. "But we're here for you, Robert. It seems one of Kalos' heroes is about to take his leave." He held out his hand and Robert shook it. "I hope you'll give Juniper my regards. She's a wonderful woman. You'll learn all you need to know from her."

"I will," Robert promised.

"Now," Sycamore turned to me, looking hopeful. "May I see him?"

I chuckled. "Alright alright. Everyone, stand back." When they all took several paces back, I threw my pokeball into the air. "Arcaneis, come on out!" My Fire and Electric Pokemon appeared and he roared majestically.

_"Merveilleux!"_ Sycamore exclaimed, hands outstretched. He ran his hands through Arcaneis' mane, grinning at the electric shock. "He is beautiful. Truly _unique!_ _Parfait!_"

"He is certainly powerful," Diantha murmured. "One of a kind. I wonder how he would fare against Gardevoir..."

"Bloody big 'Mon," Piers noted. "You might just be able to blaze through Galar with a Pokemon like that."

"I guess my rival just got stronger," Clara shook her head, smiling. "I'm going to need to train a lot harder from now on."

"Unfortunate Kamake isn't here," Eve said, stroking the side of Arcaneis' face. "She would have loved to get data on him."

A rumbling came from Arcaneis' throat, enjoying all the attention he was getting.

"You know," Princess Allie seemed calm now, gazing at Arcanine as she rubbed the top of his nose. "He looks like the hedge maze now. I wonder if that's what they would call destiny?"

I shared a glance with Alex and Robert. They seemed to have come to realize the meaning behind her words.

_"However, even with Beast X gone, it didn't erase the atrocities committed here, so the son grew a large hedge garden here, one in the shape of a _**_Pyroar_**_, one a _**_Chandelure_**_, and one a _**_Solrock_**_. It is said the son was given a prophecy that day. That the last hedge maze would one day be modeled into a fourth Pokemon, _**_one that would represent the coming of Chaos_**_. So he left that one alone and to this day it remains untouched, overgrown, waiting for one of the lineage of the Parfums to finish it."_

_"I wonder if she even knows what part she played in all this,"_ I mused, watching as Princess Allie giggled at Arcaneis licking her.

Jessie, James, and Meowth stepped to face the three of us. Jessie hugged Robert as James patted him on the back. "Thank you for looking out for Zeno," Jessie thanked him. "Good luck on the next part of your journey," James nodded to him.

"Remember," Jessie looked at me, smiling. "Whenever you need somewhere to just rest, you know where to find us."

"Yeah kid," Meowth leaped atop my shoulder, resting his elbow on my head. "You and the blonde."

Alex blushed a little, which prompted Jessie to hug her. "Oh, you two make the perfect couple! You'll always have a place to stay with us as well."

"You too," James told Robert. "If you're ever around."

"Will do," Robert saluted.

"You know," Piers said, resting his mic in front of him as he leaned on it. "If you ever want to try your hand in Galar's gym challenge, I reckon you would perform quite well. Leon is currently tryin to get folks riled up for the upcoming season and I'm sure he'd be pleased with challengers like you."

"Perhaps," I shrugged, turning to Alex.

"Might be an interesting challenge," Alex murmured, catching my eye with a knowing look.

Professor Sycamore and Diantha took Piers' place next. "It's truly a wonderful thing to witness the beginning and end of a journey," Sycamore said softly. "You have struggled through so much at such a young age. Wherever your journeys lead you, know that the blessings of Kalos go with you."

"If any of you need help with trouble, I will do what I can to help," Diantha bowed her head. "Without you three and your amazing Pokemon, I don't even wish to think of what would have become of my beloved region."

"We're pretty good at what we do," Robert said without a hint of modesty, which Alex smacked him for.

"I'm just worried we didn't do all we could," I said sadly, thinking of all the deaths that had been caused. Mira's death most of all.

Diantha's expression softened. "Zeno, no matter what tragedies have befallen Kalos, you did your best and asking of anymore would be selfish. You did all you could. Don't fault yourself for any deaths you couldn't have stopped."

I nodded, still thinking of the little girl who I was never going to forget, no matter where I went.

"Stay on the straight and narrow," I saw Alex telling Eve. "Arceus knows you don't want us coming back after you."

A hint of a smile twitched at the corners of the leader of Team Radiance. "It wouldn't do to have a couple of kids come and dismantle my organization, now would it," she agreed. "But you don't have to worry. We've learned from our mistakes."

"Zeno," I turned to see Clara standing beside Preston. With the smile she was wearing, she never looked more different than from the first time we met. "I never properly thanked you for saving me from the Cult. So, thank you. I'm glad you were able to change me."

"And thank you for giving me a chance to become someone better," Preston said to me. "I didn't think I could be allowed this kind of happiness."

I smiled at the both of them. I held out my arms. "Come here, both of you." We hugged and I remembered my journey through Kalos. Full of laughs, dangers, a pissed off rival, amazing Pokemon, and so much more. And especially one person.

We parted and I turned my head to see Alex standing a few feet away, nodding to Clara with a slight smile. I remembered the time we spent in Alola and Kalos. I didn't know what was possible between us, but maybe now...

I turned back to Clara and Preston. "We'll see each other again."

"We'd better," Clara said. "Our rematch is destined to happen, I can feel it." She sighed, smiling softly as she took Preston's hand. "Take care, all of you. Till we meet again."

...

Looker finished packing a box, then glanced over at the closet that housed the Essentia suit. The door to it was slightly ajar. He smiled, knowing that whatever would happen after he left, all would be okay.

...

Night had fallen over Lumiose City, with the night life still proceeding as it usually did. A dark figure leaped across the rooftops, a small Psychic type flying next to her. She ran with inhuman speed, Prism Tower shining in the background. Through the helmet she could smell the sweet air, an aroma she loved. She skidded to a halt at the edge of a building as she heard a cry of distress from the alley below. She nodded to her Pokemon before leaping off the side and into the darkness below.

...

A dark skinned boy lounged in the shade of a tree on the edge of a cliff overlooking Hau'oli City with the Alolan sun shining brightly from overhead. His Electric type slept beside him, tail curled around his body. Both opened their eyes at the sound of a plane coming into the airport. The boy sat up and stretched, yawning widely. He clasped his knees as he grinned, watching as people began disembarking the plane, wondering if this new batch of tourists would bring a strong trainer to challenge him.

...

"It's time," Robert said, hugging both Alex and I as the sun drew closer and closer to sunset. "The boat will be leaving soon." His grip tightened. "You know, I'll really miss the two of you. And our adventures together. It's been a blast." He stepped back, breathing in. "But I know I'll see you guys again one day," Robert smiled warmly. "I just know it." He turned and began walking up the gangplank, as the setting sun's rays shined against him. He wondered just where exactly the next part of his journey would lead him, but he knew that he would face his unknown destiny with a smile on his face-

The sound of footsteps made him turn around in surprise to see both Alex and I at each shoulder. "What are you two doing?"

"You're kidding me, right?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"Robert," Alex shook her head, holding back laughter. "Did you seriously think we were going to stay behind?"

"I mean, come on," I gripped his shoulder lightly. "Unova will be a new experience for Alex and I."

"And who better to guide us through it than you." Alex touched his other shoulder, beaming warmly.

"You guys," Robert smiled brightly at his two closest friends. He felt a tear coming on, so he quickly dried his eyes. "Well then. I hope you're ready. Unova is not a force to be reckoned with. The gyms are tougher and the League is something to marvel at. But there's one thing you must remember above all else." He took a breath, clasped both our shoulders, and said, "Remember, it won't always be _black and white_."

**As their journey in Kalos wraps up, their next one begins as they make a course for Unova. Stay tuned for the Epilogue as well as a preview of what is to come for our dynamic trio. Till the final update for LDOC. Toodles**


End file.
